Islamabad: Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that the digitization of cadastral mapping of Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad will be completed by November.
The premier said this during the launching ceremony of the cadastral map of Islamabad on Wednesday to curb land record tempering, ensure monitoring of construction through imagery and provide information about land ownership.
The cadastral mapping project was conceived inspired by the vision of the prime minister to modernize the old Patwar system into the modernized digital online system. The Survey of Pakistan was assigned the task.
Phase I comprises digitization of revenue records of three major cities including Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad and state land data of the country with a total cost is Rs1,994 million.
Survey of Pakistan has completed Islamabad Capital Territory digitalization by using geographical information system. The organization digitized a total area of 943 sq-km which included 400 sq-km of CDA and 543 sq-km ICT rural areas. In total, 70 sectors and 63 societies in CDA and 112 mouza in ICT have been digitized.
It was analyzed that 1,512 Kanal area has encroached and 5,350 Kanal area is varying from CDA layout plans.
This will also help overseas Pakistani to verify online information before purchasing land in Islamabad.
PM Imran said that the mapping of the entire Pakistan will be completed within six months after Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad. “Transparency is a very big issue in Pakistan… lots of people became rich and powerful by grabbing land.”
He said that in the next phase, the government is working to develop a system that would enable the transfer of land online from home. The prime minister said that those who are involved in land grabbing do not want digitalization in Pakistan as it would create lots of problems for them.
“I know in which city you’re having most problems because it will create problems for some people. Because of lack of transparency, many people made lots of money and became powerful.”
He said that it is almost impossible to get rid of illegal occupation because of the rotten existing system in the country. He said that land valued over Rs300 was either under illegal occupation or was not utilized, adding that 1,000-acre forest land of the capital was held illegally.
Saying that overseas Pakistanis are the most valuable asset of the country, the prime minister said that we need to create an environment for them so they can invest safely in Pakistan. “Most of them purchase land and plan to build a house but they are afraid. Many a time they go abroad and when they return someone else is living in their residence.”
The cadastral mapping would also make easily available the property rights and tenure information, lead to lesser land litigation cases, better taxation, reduction in corrupt practices, and land grabbing
PM Imran had also assigned Survey of Pakistan the Geo-Tagging/Mapping and Development of MIS of Evacuee Trust Property Board.
The duration of the project is one year which would cost Rs28 million. The project was started on 07-10-2020 and will be concluded on 06-10-2021.
