Prime Minister Imran Khan lauded on Friday commercial banks for facilitating common man seeking loans to construct their houses under the government’s Mera Pakistan Mera Ghar (MPMG) scheme.
“This is a great moment for Pakistan because we are heading on the path which we should have opted way earlier,” the prime minister said while addressing a ceremony to mark Rs100 billion in home finance approvals under the government's subsidized scheme.
He said that the government’s housing finance scheme will not only help the low-income groups who want to build a house, but also assist in boosting the economy by increasing construction activities in the country.
The Prime Minister expressed his pleasure to see that low and middle-income citizens who were completely ignored earlier are now being served by the banks in obtaining home finance. He lamented that the previous governments never thought of extending such a facility to the common man.
The prime minister said everyone was aware that working-class people did not have enough resources to buy a house.
“Pakistanis working as workers abroad had one dream – to build a house for themselves and their families,” the premier said.
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PM Imran noted that the people of lower classes had not been the focus of the previous governments, saying that all of their attention was centered on the elite.
The Prime Minister said that Pakistan’s development was never inclusive, which, according to him, was the reason why the country could not make progress.
He also appreciated the Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin, State Bank Governor Raza Baqir, and Naya Pakistan Housing Chairman Anwar Ali Hyder for their efforts.
While distributing awards among top-performing banks with respect to approvals and disbursements, he urged banks to accelerate their efforts to help realize the dream of every Pakistani to own their own homes. Bank Alfalah secured the top position followed by Meezan Bank Limited and Standard Chartered Bank Limited.
Dr Reza Baqir, Governor State Bank of Pakistan, shared the progress of MPMG since inception, highlighting that all stakeholders are taking steps in the right direction to translate the Prime Minister’s vision of increasing homeownership into reality.
Till December 20, 2021, banks received applications of Rs.263 billion while approvals of Rs. 109 billion have already been made. Over the last nine months, the approved amount increased by Rs. 98 billion. Disbursement has also increased from almost zero in March 2021 to Rs.32 billion by December 20, 2021.
While shedding light on the theme of the event, he mentioned that during the last month, banks on average approved Rs. 4 billion and disbursed Rs. 1.6 billion on weekly basis. He underscored the need to maintain and accelerate this momentum. There are six banks that disbursed over Rs. 2 billion each and seven banks have disbursed over Rs. 1 billion each in the span of 9 months under MPMG.
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