Having a home of one's own is one of the greatest blessings bestowed by Allah. Its true value can only be understood by those who are homeless or forced to live in rented accommodation. Those who have inherited family homes from their forefathers can hardly comprehend the feeling that owning a home is nothing less than paradise.
At the beginning of every month, families living in rented houses worry not only about meeting their household expenses but also about arranging the rent. They know that if they fail to pay on time, the landlord may ask them to vacate the house. Only those who have experienced living on rent can truly understand this anxiety.
When the government of Punjab, under the leadership of Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, announced the "Apni Chhat Apna Ghar" (Own Roof, Own Home) programme, many people dismissed it as merely another political slogan. A few years earlier, a similar promise had also been made by the leadership of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, but it never materialized. People naturally tend to be sceptical because political parties often make grand promises before elections, only to forget them once they assume power.
It is worth noting that Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz had not promised to provide houses during the election campaign. The Apni Chhat Apna Ghar initiative is entirely her government's own welfare programme.
I clearly remember the inaugural ceremony of this project held in Lahore, where Pakistan Muslim League (N) President and three-time elected Prime Minister Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif personally attended and distributed cheques to homeless families to help them build their own homes. On that occasion, Nawaz Sharif remarked, "This has always been my dream, and today I am witnessing it becoming a reality."
Initially, many believed that the programme would remain confined to only a few major cities and that deserving families living in remote areas of Punjab would not benefit from it. However, as on previous occasions, Maryam Nawaz proved such assumptions wrong.
The Punjab Government has established a dedicated website for the Apni Chhat Apna Ghar programme, where live data is updated daily, displaying the number of applications received as well as the houses completed across Punjab.
So far, the programme has received 1,211,954 applications. Under this initiative, 166,000 people have already secured a roof over their heads. Across Punjab, 106,209 houses have been completed, 27,841 houses are currently under construction, while work on 32,097 additional houses is yet to begin.
More than Rs. 15.143 billion has already been recovered from beneficiaries under the programme. A total of 91,434 men have completed construction of their homes, while 14,007 women have also successfully built their own houses. In addition, 23 transgender persons have become homeowners through this initiative.
In rural Punjab, 60,139 houses have been completed, while 45,325 houses have been completed in urban areas.
Among the divisions, Sargodha Division tops the list with 15,884 completed houses, followed by Rawalpindi Division (15,563), Lahore Division (13,122), Faisalabad Division (12,808), Gujranwala Division (12,484), Bahawalpur Division (10,510), Dera Ghazi Khan Division (9,511), Multan Division (9,419), and Sahiwal Division (6,914).
At the district level, Attock leads with 6,115 completed houses, followed by Faisalabad (5,984), Sargodha (5,705), Lahore (4,455), Rahim Yar Khan (3,842), Kasur (3,766), Mianwali (3,670), Multan (3,588), Bahawalnagar (3,466), Bhakkar (3,344), Rawalpindi (3,329), Gujranwala (3,312), Sheikhupura (3,240), Jhang (3,205), Bahawalpur (3,204), Khushab (3,163), Muzaffargarh (3,064), Okara (2,624), Sahiwal (2,519), Vehari (2,515), Dera Ghazi Khan (2,506), Layyah (2,178), Sialkot (2,094), Jhelum (2,013), Khanewal (1,995), Hafizabad (1,952), Toba Tek Singh (1,943), Mandi Bahauddin (1,784), Rajanpur (1,761), Pakpattan (1,761), Chiniot (1,676), Nankana Sahib (1,663), Gujrat (1,587), Lodhran (1,319), while Narowal has completed 758 houses.
The purpose of sharing these figures is to demonstrate to the people of Punjab that the Maryam Nawaz government's initiatives are not confined to television screens or social media campaigns. They are delivering tangible relief on the ground. The programme is progressing successfully across all regions of Punjab, enabling thousands of deserving families to become homeowners, with Maryam Nawaz serving as the driving force behind this transformation.
Personally, one statement by Maryam Nawaz has always impressed me. She frequently says in her speeches that all the resources of Punjab belong to the people of Punjab. The facilities and resources being provided today were always available to previous governments as well; however, they perhaps lacked the ability to ensure that public resources and taxpayers' money reached the people in the proper manner.
One of the most remarkable aspects of this programme is that it has remained completely free from political interference. Loans have been provided entirely on merit. The greatest beneficiaries of this initiative belong to the middle-income segment of society. That is precisely why they are responsibly paying their monthly instalments on time—a fact that has also been officially confirmed by the Bank of Punjab.
Maryam Nawaz is now expanding the programme further. In the current provincial budget, the Punjab Government has allocated an additional Rs. 300 billion for this initiative, which will facilitate the construction of another 200,000 houses. If this target is achieved, the Maryam Nawaz government will have successfully provided 400,000 homes to the people of Punjab within its first three years in office.
The programme has also earned international recognition. During her recent visit to Azerbaijan, the initiative received widespread appreciation, with leaders and senior officials from several countries praising Punjab's housing programme. This stands as one of Maryam Nawaz's greatest international achievements—that a public welfare initiative launched in Punjab is now being acknowledged and appreciated globally.
When public service is carried out with sincerity and genuine commitment towards the people, positive results naturally follow.
Maryam Nawaz's style of governance has drawn people towards her because every initiative she has introduced is centred on the welfare of ordinary citizens, directly benefiting the common man.
Recently, she also inaugurated electric bus services in six districts of Punjab. Her vision is to extend electric bus services to all 147 tehsils of the province, and work towards this objective is progressing rapidly. The electric bus project represents an environmentally friendly revolution in Punjab, the benefits of which will become even more evident in the years to come.
Even political opponents find it difficult to question Maryam Nawaz's governance because every one of her initiatives reflects transparency and effective implementation. Today, even many critics acknowledge and appreciate her development projects because they exist on the ground and are delivering real benefits to the people. That, ultimately, is the greatest measure of any successful government.
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