The Punjab Government has launched the ‘Meri Dukan Mere Ban’ scheme, enabling shopkeepers operating from rented properties owned by urban local bodies to acquire ownership of their shops by paying prescribed charges.Announcing the scheme, Local Government Minister Harjot Singh Bains said shopkeepers running businesses from rented municipal properties measuring up to 50 square yards can become owners after paying a specified amount based on the collector rate. The scheme will be available across 116 urban local bodies in the state.To be eligible, a shopkeeper must have been operating from the concerned property for at least 12 years.Bains said there are hundreds of properties owned by local bodies across Punjab that are either embroiled in litigation or whose tenants are not paying rent.He added that beneficiaries under the scheme have been divided into three categories based on their income slabs.