Digitization of Cadastral Mapping to ensure land record

News Report

The verified land records in Pakistan become the top priority of Prime Minister Imran Khan who pledges to complete the digitization of cadastral mapping. This project will help overseas to verify records of land to invest in real estate.

In the first phase, the government will complete the project of digitization of land records in major cities of Pakistan like Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad by November.

The government has made an effort through this project to curb land record tempering.

The government will also use imagery to monitor construction and provide information about land ownership.

Another purpose is also to attract overseas to invest in real estate. The new system will help them to verify online information before they make any purchasing of land in Islamabad.

In the second phase, the government was working to develop an online system to ensure the transfer of land while sitting at home.

Prime Minister Imran Khan made an announcement while addressing the launching ceremony of the cadastral map of Islamabad.

Prime Minister Imran Khan had envisioned this project to modernize the old Patwar system into the modernized digital online system.

Premier had assigned the task to the Survey of Pakistan.

The government will spend the amount of Rs 1,994 million to complete Phase I of the project which comprises digitization of revenue records of three major cities and state land data of the country.

The major cities in the first phase included Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad.

Survey of Pakistan has used geographical information system to complete Islamabad Capital Territory digitalization.

It has digitized a total area of 943 sq-km. It has included 400 sq-km of CDA and 543 sq-km ICT rural areas. In total, the government has digitized in 70 sectors, 63 societies in CDA, and 112 mouza in ICT.

Land grabbers had encroached as many as 1,512 Kanal area and 5,350 Kanal area has a different record from CDA layout plans.

Premier also announced to complete mapping of entire Pakistan within six months after Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad.

Moreover, he said that a lot of people had become rich by grabbing land. The purpose of digitization is to ensure transparency. Imran Khan said that those involved in land grabbing did not back digitization of the land system.

The existing rotting system has made it almost impossible to get rid of illegal occupation of land. He added that land grabbers had held 1,000-acre forest land of the capital illegally.

He termed overseas Pakistanis as the most valuable asset of the country and urged on creating an environment for them to invest safely in Pakistan.

They purchase land and plan to build homes. But they are afraid of doing so due to an unsafe environment.

Meanwhile, the cadastral mapping will ensure property rights. It will also lead to lesser land litigation cases, better taxation and will reduce corrupt practices and land grabbing.