Punjab government claims to provide latest housing facilities to the poor and deserving families who cannot afford to have a house of their own nor do they have the necessary financial resources to build it due to paucity of funds. Personal house is considered a big boon and this becomes a huge problem in big cities where rents of even the ordinary houses are sky rocketing.

Through Ashiana Housing Scheme, it is hoped that poor people will, at last, be able to enjoy a suitably built small house of their own. This scheme seems very good and should, therefore, be fully complimented as it’s primarily designed for the poorest of the poor strata. I am hopeful that Shahbaz Sharif will fulfill his promise of merit and transparency as allotment is being dealt by a third party run by a retired justice of Lahore High Court. While, Punjab government has allocated quota for widows, orphans and martyrs’ families, it is proposed that a special quota for minorities should also be fixed as they are an equal organs of the society and they should be accommodated thereby. In India, a company with the name of ‘Ashiana’ has built and delivered over 92.2 Lac sq. ft. of residential and commercial space in Bihar, Jharkhand, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi.

I hope Pakistani Ashiana project will be equally beneficial. Keeping in view its significance for the hoi polloi, there is a need to expand this scheme to all the 36 districts of the province as it will help the poor to have a house of their own. Many people who cannot afford to build own house will be benefitted through this way. This scheme will also give a necessary boost to many supplementary industries like brick kiln, cement, hardware etc and the labourers will also get jobs.

Keeping in view the track record of Shahbaz Sharif during the last three years, it should be hoped that his Ashiana Housing project will establish itself as a viable venture that will provide quality of construction, safety of investment and integrity of commitment.