ISLAMABAD: The National Information Technology Board (NITB) has uncovered significant irregularities in the wheat seed subsidy program for Rabi 2022-23, with discrepancies amounting to Rs. 2.77 billion.
According to audit findings by the Auditor General of Pakistan, several targeting and eligibility issues were identified in the data verified by the Government of Sindh. The anomalies include:
– Rs. 29.55 million disbursed to 1,469 farmers without GPS verification of their land.
– Rs. 2,675 million paid to 115,807 farmers, despite only 16,459 GPS locations being verified.
– Rs. 55.69 million given to farmers with overlapping household records.
– Rs. 13.615 million allocated to farmers residing outside Sindh.
– Payments made to 21 individuals aged 4-17 years, as per Benazir Income Support Program (BISP) records.
The subsidy program, sanctioned by the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) on January 25, 2023, tasked the Sindh government with addressing targeting grievances and entrusted BISP with managing payments. However, the audit stressed that BISP should have conducted pre-audit checks before releasing funds, a responsibility the organization denies, citing its limited role in the process.
During a Departmental Accounts Committee (DAC) meeting held on December 6, 2023, BISP clarified that it relied entirely on data provided by Sindh authorities and was not involved in developing the Application Programming Interface (API) used for data collection. Despite this, the audit insisted on BISP’s accountability for verifying the data.
The DAC has directed the Sindh government to address the identified discrepancies, ensure comprehensive verification of landholding records, and introduce procedural reforms to prevent similar irregularities in future subsidy programs.
These findings underscore the need for tighter oversight and data validation mechanisms to ensure the integrity of public subsidy programs.
