The inauguration of Aashiyana Housing Scheme by Punjab Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif at Atari Saroba, Ferozepur Road, is, without doubt, a step in the right direction. The PPP founded by late Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto swept 1970 elections on the basis of its revolutionary slogan of 'roti, kapra aur makaan. But unfortunately successive PPP regimes did not bother to implement their own popular agenda. The poor masses kept waiting for decades whether they would ever have their own roof to live under. Aashiyana will construct houses of two to three marlas at a very low price despite its location which in the open market is quite expensive. Anyone getting a house after the balloting would be lucky. He or she would also have the facility to get loan from the Bank of Punjab at very low interest rates. Another important feature of the scheme is that the widows and families of martyrs would be exempt from making the down payment of Rs 2.25 lakh. The Chief Minister, speaking on the occasion, said that the scheme was in line with the ideals of Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah and the Poet of the East Allama Mohammad Iqbal, and added that an all-out effort would be made to keep the scheme transparent and ensure its completion within a years timeframe. If the schedule is adhered to, the day is not far when the poor people would also have the feel of belonging to the motherland by possessing houses of their own and having no fear of the owners knocking at the door to demand the rent at the beginning of every month. This project is also in line with Mian Shahbazs vision of introducing Danish schools with the objective of providing quality education to the poorest of the poor. One Danish school has been functional for months now and those who have visited the facility in Rahim Yar Khan would confirm that a new education system has been made workable. The Chief Minister should keep his word and extend the Aashiyana Schemes to other districts of the province, as he intends doing with the Danish School system.