Govt says will roll out 'reshaped' Mera Pakistan Mera Ghar scheme in coming days

The government will roll out a reshaped Mera Pakistan Mera Ghar (MPMG) scheme within a week, said the Ministry of Finance in a late-night announcement on Tuesday.

It added that the MPMG scheme was put on hold temporarily due to changed market conditions and for better targeting.

“The Finance Division and State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) are currently working on reshaping the scheme and it will be rolled out within a week,” it said.

"It is assured that the investments already made by the general public through the scheme remain protected."

The government's statement comes after it announced suspending the scheme on June 30, with banks directed to stop further disbursements from July 1, 2022 for two months.

Just days ago, the SBP said that “a line of action will be finalised in consultation with the government” for applicants who have deposited token amounts with sellers in pursuit of homes under the MPMG Scheme, reported Business Recorder.

“Data of those customers is currently being collected from the banks,” the SBP had said in an emailed response.

“The scheme has been temporarily suspended for two months as the government is in process of revising its features to make it more conducive and practical in the wake of the prevailing macro-financial environment.

“With regards to approved cases, customers who have already received partial amounts of their approved financing will continue to receive their remaining financing amounts as per their agreements with their financing banks,” it said.

However, the bigger point of concern remained the thousands of those customers who saw their applications get approved after months of documentation but did not see any amount disbursed to them. Several of these applicants are customers who have deposited token amounts with sellers after having pursued the scheme for months.

After Business Recorder's report, Finance Minister Miftah Ismail said that the government was reshaping the scheme, assuring people that no one would "lose their money".

"Many people are writing to me that their loans were approved in the Mera Ghar scheme and that they have spent money based on that approval," he tweeted on July 16. "I want to assure you that we are reshaping this scheme and no-one will lose their money. We will resolve the issues within the next week."