Mera Ghar Mera Ashiana Scheme: Approval to increase loan limit to Rs 10 million

LAHORE: The Federal Cabinet Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) has approved important amendments to the scheme, including increasing the loan limit under the Mera Ghar Mera Ashiana Scheme to Rs 10 million, expanding the eligible size of residential units, and fixing a uniform 5% rate for all consumers.

According to a statement issued by the Federal Ministry of Finance, a meeting of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet was held under the chairmanship of Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, in which important decisions were taken regarding providing housing facilities to the common man and energizing the economy.

The statement said that the meeting reviewed the summary of the revised features of the Mera Ghar Mera Ashiana (MGMA) low-cost housing financing scheme presented by the Ministry of Housing and Works in detail.

The committee was informed that since the launch of the scheme, there has been a lot of interest from the public and more than 10,594 loan applications have been received while the process of disbursements is also underway.

In the meeting, the ECC approved increasing the loan limit to Rs 10 million, expanding the eligible size of residential units, fixing a uniform rate of 5% for all consumers, expanding the targets of housing finance over the next four years, continuing implementation through the State Bank of Pakistan and bringing the already disbursed loans to 5% rate so that uniformity is maintained.

The statement said that the committee directed that subsidy payments should be made as per actual expenditure and within the annual financial capacity.

The revised framework aims to facilitate housing provision for low-income groups, promote the construction sector, create employment opportunities and ensure sustainable home ownership through a balanced risk-sharing and mark-up subsidy model.

The meeting also approved a technical supplementary grant of Rs 7.289 million for the ICT component of the National Program for Enhancing Command Areas in Rainfed Areas of Pakistan, which aims to improve agricultural production in rainfed areas.