Govt puts ‘Mera Pakistan, Mera Ghar’ Scheme’ on hold

Low-cost housing finance scheme, titled Mera Pakistan, Mera Ghar has been put on hold temporarily due to changed market conditions and for better targeting.

A press release issued by Ministry of Finance said that Finance Division and State Bank of Pakistan are currently working on reshaping the scheme and it will be rolled out within a week.

Meanwhile, it is assured that the investments already made by the general public through the scheme remain protected.

It is pertinent to mention here that the PTI government initiated this pro-poor project to improve the availability of adequate housing in the country and the important role of the construction sector in boosting economic activities.

The PTI government envisioned increasing the number of housing units manifold and took several measures in this regard.

To support this vision of the Government of Pakistan, the State Bank of Pakistan has taken several measures since July 2020 to support the provision of financing for the housing and construction sector. In October 2020, the Government of Pakistan augmented these efforts by introducing the Government Markup Subsidy Scheme, now commonly known as Mera Pakistan Mera Ghar (MPMG) markup subsidy Scheme. Government liberalized features of the MPMG scheme in light of feedback of stakeholders to benefit the larger strata in March 2021.

Available in both conventional and Islamic modes, this scheme enabled banks to provide financing for the construction and purchase of houses at very low financing rates for low to middle-income segments of the population.

State Bank of Pakistan is the executing partner with the Government of Pakistan and Naya Pakistan Housing and Development Authority (NAPHDA).