Allots land to 30,000 families
Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has conducted the computerized balloting of the Apna Khet Apna Rozgar scheme, allocating 121,000 acres of cultivable government land to 30,000 landless families across the province.
Maryam Nawaz announced that 30,000 deserving families have been made owners and custodians of cultivable government land under the Apna Khet Apna Rozgar scheme.
The successful applicants have been granted cultivation rights for 20 years under a symbolic lease of Rs100 per year, giving landless families long-term security and an opportunity to build sustainable livelihoods.
She described the initiative as a milestone in empowering the poor, saying Punjab has become the only province to make ordinary citizens stakeholders in government-owned agricultural land.
Officials briefed the chief minister that the Apna Khet Apna Rozgar programme was launched on April 22.
According to the briefing, computerized balloting for 29,000 plots has been completed from among 60,000 applicants, including 11,000 women applicants.
Authorities said every applicant was given the opportunity for a personal hearing for the first time, while an appeal mechanism was also introduced to ensure transparency.
Successful applicants will receive allotment letters within a week, while complete land positioning will be finalized by July 31.
District committees have also been established to oversee implementation and issue lease certificates.
The chief minister said the government is not only providing land but also financial and technical sup-port to help beneficiaries begin farming.
Each successful family will receive Rs50,000 per acre for cultivation, while Agriculture Extension Department teams will provide technical assistance to improve productivity. During a telephone conversation with successful applicant Abdul Sattar, son of Mukhtar Ahmed from Faisalabad, Maryam Nawaz congratulated him on receiving cultivable land.
She told him he had received four acres under the scheme and would only have to pay Rs100 per year under the lease arrangement.
She also informed him that he would receive Rs200,000 for land preparation so he would not have to depend on anyone else. “Earn well, prosper and provide for your family,” the chief minister told Abdul Sattar.
