CM expands housing initiative with new interest-free loan schemes

LAHORE, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 8th Jul, 2026) Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday approved the launch of the “Apna Ghar, Mehfooz Ghar” (My Home, Safe Home) programme under the existing “Apni Chhat, Apna Ghar” initiative to improve housing safety across the province and prevent tragedies caused by unsafe residential structures.

The decision was taken during a special meeting chaired by the chief minister, which also approved expanding the scope of the government’s flagship housing programme by introducing two new loan categories. Under the proposed initiative, interest-free loans of Rs500,000 will be provided for repairing weak roofs and structurally unsafe houses, while interest-free loans of Rs1 million will be offered in easy installments for constructing an additional storey or floor.

The meeting reviewed progress on the “Apni Chhat, Apna Ghar” and “Apni Zameen, Apna Ghar” programmes. It was informed that interest-free loans had been approved for more than 180,000 homeless families, with loans already disbursed to 170,000 beneficiaries. The government has so far released Rs217.8 billion for the programme, while nearly 27,500 houses are in the final stages of completion.

The briefing further revealed that 134,343 houses had been completed across Punjab under the programme and more than 1.278 million applications had been received from homeless families seeking assistance.

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Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz directed the authorities to release the second instalment of housing loans within the next three days, saying that effective governance was demonstrated through practical action rather than statements during difficult times.

The meeting also approved the new Rs1 million loan category for constructing an additional floor and formally endorsed the Rs500,000 loan category for repairing damaged and unsafe roofs.

Officials informed the meeting that 2,000 residential plots had been distributed in 23 districts under the “Apni Zameen, Apna Ghar” programme, while a report on rehabilitation and development work in these areas was also presented.

The CM directed that the process for obtaining housing loans be further simplified and ordered that the 2,000 families who had received free government plots should also be facilitated with loans for house construction.

She said that the Punjab government would support families in making unsafe, weak-roofed and dilapidated homes secure, stressing that “Apni Chhat, Apna Ghar” and its allied initiatives were flagship welfare projects of the provincial government. She also directed that no additional financial burden should be imposed on low-income families and that there should be no changes to the existing eligibility criteria or procedures for obtaining housing loans.