LAHORE: For the first time in the history of Punjab, “Himmat Card” programme will be launched on Friday (today) for financial assistance of physically-challenged persons.
Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz will be the chief guest of the ceremony to be held at the Chief Minister’s Secretariat. Sources said the Bank of Punjab has completed printing of 40,000 “Himmat Cards” to be issued in the first phase.
The “Himmat Card” programme was initiated by CM Maryam Nawaz to help physically-challenged people who cannot work at all. She had approved the programme on April 17 last.
This initiative of Punjab government aims to provide various services to disabled persons to ensure their social independence and make them economically self-sufficient. “Himmat Card” programme has been made a part of the annual development programme 2024-25 with allocation of Rs2 billion to be issued to deserving persons.
The Punjab cabinet approved the programme on July 30. It increased quarterly financial assistance from Rs7,500 to Rs10,500. The cabinet also increased PMT score from 35 to 45 so that more deserving people could benefit from the financial assistance.
After the increase, the budget of Himmat Card programme is now Rs2.658 billion. Eligibility criteria is that the person should be a resident of Punjab, certified as disabled by the Board under Punjab Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities Act 2022.
If the target of 65,000 persons with disabilities who cannot work at all is not met, those with disabilities who are able to work with a PMT score above 32 will also be considered for the card. The applicant should not be a beneficiary of Zakat, BISP, PSPA or any other regular monthly/quarterly financial assistance programme, and should not be a government/semi-government employee.
Registration of disabled persons was started on May 2. A total of 134,674 persons with disabilities were contacted, while 30,346 have been confirmed. “Himmat Cards” will be issued at the designated centres through the Bank of Punjab.