Ownership rights given to flood-hit families in Tando Jam ceremony

HYDERABAD: Ownership rights of newly constructed houses were handed over to families affected by the 2022 floods on Saturday in a ceremony that took place at the Rawal House, Rahooki, in Tando Jam.

Sindh Senior Minister for Information and Transport Sharjeel Inam Memon attended the event as the chief guest. He said the occasion was not a routine event and it symbolised the public service of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).

He said the Sindh Peoples Housing Scheme was the largest initiative of its kind not only in Pakistan but in the world, aimed at providing free homes to 2.1 million families.

He explained that the project was launched as per the vision of PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari who directed the Sindh government to take immediate steps for permanent housing of the people affected by floods during his visits to flood hit areas in 2022.

Initially, there were doubts about the feasibility of such a massive effort, but Bilawal made it clear that this was not a political statement but a commitment to public service, Memon said.

After extensive planning and coordination with the World Bank and international agencies, construction began on a historic scale, he explained, adding that a key feature of the programme was that ownership rights were being granted in the names of women to empower them and strengthen family security.

He noted that those receiving homes had lost everything and lived for months in temporary camps, but now thanks to the PPP government, they had permanent housing and financial assistance directly through bank accounts.

Memon highlighted that while 800,000 homes were rebuilt after the Nepal earthquake, Sindh’s programme delivered 2.1 million houses. This achievement deserved recognition in the Guinness Book of World Records, he added.

The information minister also cited other initiatives of the PPP government, such as Pakistan’s only cyberknife-equipped hospital offering free cancer treatment, and projects to install solar panels in flood victims’ homes to address electricity shortage. He announced that a new employment and economic empowerment programme, Maash, would be launched soon.

Paying tribute to President Asif Ali Zardari on his 70th birthday, Memon mentioned landmark achievements of Zardari including the passage of 18th Amendment, NFC Award, Aghaz-e-Huqooq-e-Balochistan and the Benazir Income Support Programme. He remarked that under the PPP leadership, Pakistan shifted from being a wheat importer to an exporter.

He said the PPP considered public service a duty, not a favour, and challenged the rival parties to name a single comparable project.

Sindh Assembly member Imdad Pitafi and Hyderabad Commissioner Fayaz Abbasi also addressed the ceremony, confirming that 99 per cent of the 45,000 homes targeted for the Hyderabad Division had been completed.