MUZAFFARGARH: The Highway Department has ordered the deduction of Rs4,000 from the salaries of officials whose wives received benefits from the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) in Muzaffargarh. A total of 37 officials from the Muzaffargarh Highway Department were found to have benefited from BISP payments.

Executive Engineer Shahid Riaz, of the Highway Department for Muzaffargarh and Kot Addu districts, confirmed that a list of 37 officials was received from the Lahore head office. As a result, Rs4,000 will be deducted monthly from their salaries. Similarly, in the Education Department, District Education Officer Mah Jabeen said, over 300 employees and their wives had received BISP benefits illegally. Thedepartment has ordered these funds to be refunded.

The list of undeserving government officers receiving aid money from BISP was brought to light recently. Wives of 980 officers and employees from various government institutions across the district have received hundreds of thousands from the BISP initiatives over the years. Among the recipients are the wives of grade 17 and 18 officers, from whom recovery efforts have begun.

These government employees belong to the departments of highway, health, education, police, revenue (patwari), and irrigation, among others. Notices have been issued to recover the aid from government employees who received assistance from the BISP. About 24 police officials, including inspectors from the Punjab Police, have been found to have their wives receiving BISP installments regularly. Letters demanding refundshave been sent to their respective departments. Similarly, wives of employees from the irrigation department, district collector office, and highway officials also benefited from the BISP.

The BISP management is taking steps to retrieve the aid money from illegal obtained by blocking undeserving recipients. A BISP official said a former CEO`s wife, an associate professor, a school headmistress and a head nurse of grade 17, as well as a headmaster of a higher secondary school (grade 19) were receiving BISP installments regularly. The relevant departments have been notified, and theseillegalrecipientshavebeendirected to refund the money, failing which their cases will be referred to the Federal Investigation Agency for further action.

The BISP management said this discovery has created a sense of urgency and fear among the officials involved. Some employees have expressed their worry about thissituation and have decided to refund the money as per the law. When contacted by Dawn, a Grade 17 official did not comment but mentioned that she is now refunding the dues to the department.

BISP officials said that a major crackdown has been initiated against government officials whose wives received BISP installments. So far, 980 employees in Muzaffargarh have been identified, and efforts are underway to recover the funds.

BISP District Director Zaheer Abbas said that a similar campaign was launched in 2018 under the leadership of then BISP chairperson, Sania Nishtar.

Some people refunded the money then, and names were blocked. Another official said that these employees received money until 2018, and since then, no employee`s wife has received BISP installments. A case has already been moved to the FIA for further action.