Possibility of affordable housing.

Byline: Ahsan Nisar

*Mera Pakistan Mera Ghar buzzword a three-pronged benefits for country's homeless population

Poor access to affordable housing results in unequal home ownership: proprietorship remains concentrated in the top income bracket, leaving a limited supply of housing for low-income households. Housing insecurity among the lower income strata of Pakistan has therefore become a pressing public policy issue. And now affordable housing has become a buzzword in Pakistan. Pakistan's Prime Minister, Imran Khan, has promised to provide five million new affordable houses to the people in his term. Mera Pakistan Mera Ghar is a low-cost housing scheme offering affordable house financing to low and middle income households and is for both salaried and non-salaried individuals.

Affordable housing is the key when it comes to the health and vitality of the communities. It is an important part of sustainable development goals of Pakistan. The poor management of the growth of housing cost in Pakistan has been affecting negatively in terms of finance. Therefore, reducing the impact of housing issues could be a potential benefit for both low and middle income households. The main challenge to get affordable housing in Pakistan is high rate of interest and large gap between house prices and level of household income. Earlier on, housing sector has largely been neglected by various governments in Pakistan. If at all it got any attention of the political leadership, it never moved beyond mere political rhetoric and slogans. "Mera Pakistan, Mera Ghar" program is the flagship project of the government that may provide three-pronged benefits: housing facility to the homeless population, accelerate economic activity within the country and provide job opportunities to the youth.

As per UN estimates, Pakistan's population has been estimated approximately at 220,892,340 (220 million). Moreover, it is also considered as the 5th most populous country in the world, occupying 2.83% of the total world population. Further, its population is growing at a rate of 2.4% per year. In this scenario, Pakistan's is in the dire need of housing scheme. A housing...