Ultra-poor may get Family Card before Eid on pilot basis

Social-safety net takes a fresh boost as the new government decides on beginning to distribute its pledged 'Family Card' to recipients on a pilot basis before Eid-ul-Fitr.
Also, on the second day of its function, the Tarique government made several other decisions that include the re-launch of countrywide canal-river-excavation and tree-planting programmes.
"The family card would be universal or for all the families although the ultra-poor would be the first segment for the initiative," said a few ministers after an inter-ministerial meeting on Thursday in Dhaka.
Chaired by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, the BNP-led government's cabinet ministers adopted the decisions in meetings the Bangladesh Secretariat.
The Family Card, a core pledge of the ruling party's election manifesto, aims to provide a robust social-safety net for vulnerable populations across the country, in addition to other sorts of ex- gratia.
Emerging from the meeting, Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Abdul Awal Mintoo, Information Minister Zahir Uddin Swapon and Social Welfare Minister Dr AZM Zahid Hossain briefed journalists on the outcomes.
The distribution programme will begin on a pilot basis during Ramadan to ensure immediate relief before the Eid festivities, the ministers said.
While the programme will eventually be universal, it will be rolled out in phases, starting with the ultra-poor, followed by the poor, and eventually extending to the middle class, said Minister Mintoo.
Asked how many families would initially receive the card, Mintoo said the programme is intended to be universal and will not have restrictions.
"A committee has been formed. The programme may begin with the ultra-poor, then expand to the poor and later to the middle class in phases," he said.
A high-level committee, led by the Finance Minister, has been formed to finalise the action plan and implementation guidelines within next few days.
According to the government plan, the card will primarily be issued in the name of the female member of each household.
Social Welfare Minister Dr Zahid highlighted that the financial assistance provided through the Family Card would be more than double that of existing allowance schemes.
"However, the ongoing card and allowance programmes will continue, and the new Family Card will be distributed universally," he added.
"This is a new dimension to our social-safety net. While existing programmes like TCB sales and elderly allowances will continue, the Family Card will eventually cover approximately five crore (50 million) families," the minister said.
To ensure transparency and prevent irregularities, the government plans to use advanced information-technology systems for distribution.
According to government sources, the Family Card is designed as a comprehensive social-safety- net tool that shifts from individual-based allowances to a household-centric model.
The government is likely to provide monthly cash allowance under the family card. While the final amount is being refined by the Finance Minister's committee, the government has signaled a target of Tk 2,000 to Tk 2,500 per month per household, the sources said.
Besides the cash, the cardholders will be entitled to a basket of essential goods (rice, oils, lentils, sugar) in kind at significantly lower-than-market rates through the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) at a subsidised rate.
Under the pilot launch, the government plans to provide a "Festival Bonus" or an enhanced food package specifically for the Eid-ul-Fitr holiday, the officials said.
In a move to ensure financial autonomy within the home, the cards will be issued in the name of the mother or the female head of the household, they said.
In the first phase, ultra-poor, widows, and persons with disabilities are likely to be covered immediately while the low-income families and those currently in the TCB digital card system would be brought under the second phase.
Extension to middle-class families to create a "Universal Social Security" net would be ensured in the 3rd phase, the government officials said.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman also held meeting with ministers beyond the Family Card where several major national initiatives were greenlit on Thursday at the Secretariat.
In another inter-ministerial meeting, the government decided to plant 250 million trees across the country over the next five years.
Besides, a national programme for the massive excavation and re-excavation of rivers, canals, and waterbodies to combat water-logging and improve irrigation was also taken at the meeting.
The government issued strict directives to the Ministry of Commerce and local administrations to continue anti-syndicate operations.
Taskforces will be deployed to break market syndicates and ensure fair prices for essential items during Ramadan.
A separate programme will sell eggs, milk, and meat at subsidised rates to 1.0 million families in Dhaka during the holy month.
To observe the International Mother Language Day on Feb 21, the meeting also approved final security and ceremonial protocols for the upcoming Shaheed Dibash.
The President and the Prime Minister would pay homage at the Central Shaheed Minar in the early hours of February 21, followed by a nationwide cultural programme.
Officials from the relevant ministries and divisions attended the meeting to discuss and finalise the implementation strategy for rolling out the Family Card programme.