REJAUL KARIM BYRON

The finance ministry has found a host of anomalies in the pilot of the Family Card programme, as the government seeks to iron out irregularities and ensure the BNP’s flagship social welfare initiative can withstand the scrutiny of development partners.

As per rules, government employees, pensioners, savings certificate holders and those already benefiting from other government social safety net programmes such as Vulnerable Women Benefit (VWB) programme and Food-Friendly Programme are not eligible for the Family Card.

Those with Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) cards or vehicles registered with the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) are also not eligible.

In the pilot phase that began on March 10, less than a month after the new government’s swearing-in ceremony, 37,800 Family Cards were handed out. The finance ministry could verify the details of 35,844 of the recipients and found 6,487 cardholders (about 18 percent) to be ineligible under the criteria set for the programme.

Among them, 38 were government employees, 69 were pensioners, 174 were savings certificate holders, 5,021 had TCB cards, 709 were VWB beneficiaries and 113 were listed under the Food-Friendly Programme, according to the finance ministry findings seen by The Daily Star.

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