The August round of Aswesuma welfare payments will be credited to beneficiaries’ bank accounts on Wednesday, August 19, the Welfare Benefits Board has said, with more than Rs. 11.56 billion going to over 1.2 million families.
The Board set out the schedule in an official statement, Ada Derana reported.
How the payment splits
Under the first phase of the Aswesuma Welfare Benefits Scheme, payments will go to 999,502 beneficiary families, with a total allocation of more than Rs. 9.24 billion.
A further 212,955 families covered under the second phase are due to receive more than Rs. 2.32 billion.
Together the two phases account for over 1.21 million households. The Board said the funds would be credited directly to beneficiaries’ bank accounts on the 19th.
Slightly below July
The August total is marginally smaller than the Rs. 11.83 billion disbursed in the July round, which was credited on July 15. The Board did not give a reason for the difference, and month-to-month totals shift as households move on and off the register.
Aswesuma is the government’s main social safety net, replacing the former Samurdhi scheme with means-tested monthly transfers. Eligibility is set through a nationwide targeting exercise, and payments resumed in phases this year following a beneficiary verification survey intended to remove ineligible recipients.
The scheme has also drawn scrutiny at the administrative level. Legal action was taken this month against 14 officials over alleged fraud involving Aswesuma funds, one of several cases the Welfare Benefits Board has pursued during the year.
