47. Pakistan Economic Survey 2011-12 - Consultancy Services in ...

Executive Summarymitigate the impact of stabilization program aswell as inflation.The Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) isyet another element of the country’s povertyreduction strategy. The PPAF is dedicated formicro credit, enterprise development, communitybased infrastructure and energy projects, livelihoodenhancement and protection, social mobilization,and capacity building. The overall disbursementsfor core operations during the period of July-December 2012 were Rs. 8.5 billion.Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal is making a significantcontribution towards poverty reduction through itsvarious services by providing assistance todestitute, widows, orphans, invalid, infirm andother needy persons irrespective of their gender,caste, creed and religion through its ongoing coreprojects/schemes. A total of Rs. 1.8 billion hasbeen utilised upto February 2012 on schemes suchas individual Financial Assistance, child supportprogram, vocational schools, sweet homes etc.After devolution of the subject of Zakat, theProvinces/Federal Areas are directly managing thedistribution of Zakat to the beneficiaries. Zakatfunds have been utilized for assistance to theneedy, indigent, poor, orphans, widows,handicapped and disabled for their subsistence andrehabilitation. Up to March 2012, a total amount ofRs.7.8 billion was distributed amongst theprovinces and other administrative areas.Peoples Works Programme (PWP) I & II arewelfare programmes comprising smalldevelopment schemes providing villageelectrification, gas, farm to market roads,education, health and other services to create jobsat the local level. PWP-I & II have been providedover Rs. 38 billion during 2011-12.Employees Old Age Benefits Institution providesmonetary benefits to the old age workers throughvarious programmes such as the Old Age Pension,Invalidity Pension, Survivors Pension and Old AgeGrants. During the period of July-March 2012, Rs.8 billion has been disbursed to 350,485beneficiaries.Workers Welfare Fund is also facilitating the poorlabourers in industrial sector by providing fundsfor housing facilities and marriage grant, deathgrant and scholarships etc. During (July-March)2011-12, Rs. 2.5 billion has been incurred for theseschemes. Government has also taken variousmicro-finance initiatives in collaboration with allstakeholders to generate employment opportunitiesand to eliminate poverty.The Government has provided huge subsidiesduring the last four years to the vulnerable andpoor to mitigate the impact of stabilization, floodsand international prices. These include: Rs. 1122billion for the power sector, Rs. 104 billion for thepetroleum sector in addition to foregone income ofRs. 136 billion from Petroleum Levy by adjustingit downward to keep the petroleum prices lowerthan the international market, Rs. 110 billion onfertilizer and Rs. 137 billion for food items such assugar, wheat and subsidized items through UtilitiesStores. In addition, Federal Government providedRs. 42 billion to the flood affectees through WatanCard as well as Citizens Compensation DamagesProgram.Environment: Pakistan continued to facechallenges to achieve environmentally sounddevelopment. This has become increasinglydifficult to achieve in the backdrop of back to backflooding and rains across the country as well asother exogenous and endogenous factors. Thequality of the natural environment is not only anextremely important issue from the point of viewof individual survival but it will also emerge as oneof the principal human security issues in Pakistan.The environmental challenges include climatechange impacts, loss of biological diversity,deforestation and degradation of Air and Waterquality.A number of projects have been funded by thegovernment to improve the capacity of relevantinstitutions to deal with increasing environmentaldegradation. In addition, there are a number ofprojects funded by the donors in which thegovernment is a partner. These are being currentlyimplemented to improve overall environment ofthe country. Government efforts alone, because ofthe limited resources at its disposal, are not enoughand demand a much larger participation andix