Apni Chhat Apna Ghar: over 224,000 interest-free housing loans approved in Punjab, Sargodha division leads with 29,658

More than 224,000 families have been approved for interest-free housing loans under Punjab's Apni Chhat Apna Ghar programme, Punjab Housing Minister Bilal Yasin said on Thursday 22 October 2026, Business Recorder reported. The minister spoke by phone to beneficiaries in Bahawalpur, Sahiwal and Sargodha to check how far their houses had got.

Approved families by division

These eight divisions add up to 195,862 families. The report did not give a figure for Multan division, which accounts for most of the remaining 28,000 or so approvals in the overall count.

Sargodha has the most approvals of any division, ahead of the more populous Lahore and Faisalabad divisions. Sahiwal has the fewest of those listed.

What the minister ordered

Yasin told housing officials in every district to contact beneficiary families directly and collect their feedback, which he said would be used to keep the scheme transparent and on merit and to fix problems in how it is run. He called the programme an exemplary initiative built on transparency, merit and public service.

The announcement did not give the total amount lent, the number of houses finished, or any change to the loan limit, instalment or eligibility rules.

If you have been approved

• Expect a call. Officials have been told to phone beneficiaries. Answer it, and report any delay in the release of an instalment or any demand for money: the loan is interest-free and approval should cost you nothing.
• Keep your documents together: CNIC, the ownership papers for your plot, and the approved map if your local body requires one.
• Check the release schedule. Your approval letter sets out how and when the money is paid; plan the build around it.

Not the same as the federal Apna Ghar scheme

Apni Chhat Apna Ghar is the Punjab government's own scheme. The federal Prime Minister's Apna Ghar programme is a separate, bank-run mortgage scheme with markup; banks had approved Rs 426 billion under it by 9 October, as we reported in our Apna Ghar loans story. If you are comparing a bank mortgage with the interest-free route, our home loan calculator shows the monthly instalment for any amount and rate, and the plot size converter turns marlas into square feet.