CM Maryam launches ‘Apna Khet, Apna Rozgar’ scheme for 30,000 landless families

LAHORE, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 6th Jul, 2026) Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif on Monday launched the Apna Khet, Apna Rozgar scheme by conducting digital balloting under which around 30,000 landless families were allotted cultivable state land on a symbolic annual lease of Rs100 for 20 years.

The scheme covers more than 121,000 acres of cultivable government land, enabling beneficiary families to secure long-term cultivation rights. Each family would also receive financial assistance of Rs50,000 per acre for land preparation, while the Agriculture Extension Department would provide technical support to help ensure successful cultivation.

During the ceremony, the chief minister personally telephoned successful applicants to congratulate them. Speaking to Abdul Sattar of Faisalabad, she informed him that he had been allotted four acres of land for the next 20 years at an annual lease of only Rs100 per acre. She said he would also receive Rs200,000, at the rate of Rs50,000 per acre, to prepare the land for cultivation.

Earlier, Senior Member board of Revenue Nabeel Javed briefed the chief minister that the programme, launched on April 22, had been completed in less than three months. He said around 60,000 applications had been received, including nearly 11,000 from women. Balloting for approximately 29,000 allotments had been completed after scrutiny, during which applicants were provided opportunities for personal hearings and appeals.

According to the briefing, allotment letters would be issued within a week, while possession of the allotted land was expected to be handed over by July 31. District-level committees had been constituted to oversee implementation, and lease certificates would be issued to all successful applicants.

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Addressing the ceremony, the chief minister congratulated the successful families and appreciated Provincial Agriculture Minister Ashiq Kirmani, Secretary Agriculture Iftikhar Sahoo, Senior Member Board of Revenue Nabeel Javed and their teams for completing the programme within a short period.

She said the initiative was designed to empower the poorest landless families by providing them with cultivable land, financial assistance and technical support, enabling them to earn a sustainable livelihood with dignity. She added that only genuinely deserving families without agricultural land ownership had been selected strictly on merit and that no recommendations were entertained during the allotment process.

Maryam Nawaz said the Punjab government would continue identifying cultivable state land across the province for distribution among deserving landless families and that more beneficiaries would be included in future phases of the programme.

She said the initiative would strengthen the rural economy, increase agricultural production and promote financial independence among low-income households. Highlighting women’s participation, she said female applicants constituted about 20 per cent of the total applications and 29 per cent of applicants under the Cholistan component of the programme.

The CM said Punjab had become the first province to make ordinary citizens stakeholders in state-owned agricultural land through such an initiative, adding that successful beneficiaries would receive both land and financial assistance to make cultivation economically sustainable.