Govt announces Rs1mn interest-free loans for additional floor construction

LAHORE: The Punjab government has introduced two new categories under the Apni Chhat Apna Ghar (ACAG) programme, offering interest-free loans to help citizens renovate dilapidated houses and construct additional floors.

Under the new initiative, eligible families will be provided up to Rs500,000 for the renovation of deteriorating houses, while an interest-free loan of up to Rs1 million will be available for constructing an additional floor on existing homes through easy instalments.

The decision was taken during a meeting on the Apni Chhat Apna Ghar programme chaired by Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz. The chief minister said the expansion of the scheme was aimed at making homes safer and preventing tragedies similar to the Kahna incident, where the collapse of unsafe structures caused loss of lives.

Officials briefed the meeting that interest-free loans had already been approved for more than 180,000 families under the housing programme, while over 170,000 families had received loans so far.

The briefing stated that the Punjab government has allocated Rs217.8 billion for the project, with more than 134,000 houses completed across the province. Around 27,500 additional houses are currently in different stages of completion.

The officials further informed the meeting that more than 1.278 million families have submitted applications for the housing scheme.

Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz directed authorities to launch the second category of the programme for the public within three days and instructed officials to make the process of obtaining housing loans easier.

Read more: ‘Apni Chhat Apna Ghar’ Punjab announces loan for more 12000 families

She said that good governance was reflected through practical measures rather than statements during difficult times. She added that after providing free plots to 2,000 homeless families, the government would now also provide financial assistance for home construction.

The chief minister directed that no additional burden should be placed on poor families and that the loan application process should not be made complicated through unnecessary conditions.

She said the Punjab government would provide assistance to make unsafe homes secure and warned that negligence in any of its flagship programmes would not be tolerated.