Land Record Computerisation in Pakistan a Step towards Transparency and Efficiency
One of the major problems of the administrative system of Pakistan has been poor management of land records following traditional methods and unorganized and rampant corruption.
To overcome these challenges government of Pakistan has started a program of Computerisation of land records so as to streamline and bring the record of land in digital platform.
To learn more about the where and why of land record Computerisation, the government efforts, and the importance of digitized land records- read this blog.
1. The Importance of Land Record Computerisation in Pakistan
The conventional land record system have many problems which affect the land administration in Pakistan.
It uses handwritten records at the local patwaris, and the files are easily forgeable and often lost or misleading.
Also, most of the time, the manual system has several problems, such as bureaucratic processes that lead to land issues, fraud, and slow property conveyancing.
These inefficiencies not only destabilize the conditions that individual property owners have supplied but also have other significant economic repercussions.
It also becomes hard for the people to have their land as security, therefore, gets credit to boost their businesses, and thus slows the economic growth.
The mentioned system also provides the base for corruption, as no one is oversees officials and they can enrich themselves at their discretion.
Due to all these challenges, there has been a need for an innovative systematic approach to the management of land records that can be achieved only through land record computerisation.
2. State-wise Policies for Digitization of Land records
Realizing the challenges posed by manual system of managing the land record, the government of Pakistan has launched several key projects for land record computerisation.
The most conspicuous one is the Land Records Management and Information Systems (LRMIS) project, which was established in 2007 in the province of Punjab with the help of the World Bank.
As mentioned earlier in this paper the LRMIS project seeks to computerize the mantled records, increase the accuracy of data collected in the process of dealing with transfers of properties and other man related services.
In this regard, computerised land record center has been set up across districts of Punjab own where a citizen can view computerized record of its land record and can avail property documents.
The level of over-dependency on the patwari based services has however been eliminated to some extent by the Computerisation system just to enable people to officially own or transact in the land.
Buoyed with the success in Punjab, similar attempts are being made in the other provinces; Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Baluchistan for replicating the model and setting up land record computerisation programs.
There is also increasing efforts to attach new technologies like GIS to the preparation of enhanced maps of land portions.
This can assist in demarcation and tell who owns what and where within the state or across the entire country.
3. Benefits of Land Record Computerisation
The land record computerisation offers several benefits for individuals, businesses, and the government, including:
Increased Transparency and Reduced Corruption:
Technology cuts out mediators, in turn, reducing possibility for frauds.
People can physically search for their land documents in the computerized citizens’ service centers or get information from the Internet directly which reduces the distortion and increases the stakeholders’ responsibility.
Efficient Land Administration:
Digitization of records increases the efficiency of land transactions, sales purchases and transfers.
Computerized process eliminate paper work thereby making the process of land administration more efficient in terms of processing time.
This not only serve the interest of individual land owners but also the investors who look forward to be offered lands for development without much haste.
Reduction in Land Disputes:
This is true because the population has a ready access of all the records concerning the size of the land, its ownership and boundaries.
Given that digital records are mostly recorded without a measure of discrepancy, it becomes much easier to dispense with cross-lawsuits and legalese.
Due to the current land information, there is also enhanced support to judicial proceedings hence leading to faster decision making in any land issues.
Improved Access to Credit:
Land record computerisation can promote the use of land as security for loans among the owners of the land.
These stakeholders can therefore easily and effectively confirm whoever owns property thus improving the chances of people obtaining loans to support agriculture, business and individuals.
It can help therefore to promote economic growth since a number of people will be able to access credit to fund productive ventures.
Still there are some barriers in complete computerization of land record of Pakistan in all the regions of Pakistan but still great advancement is been seen.
These include opposition from orthodox revenue officials about change, lack of infrastructure to implement techniques in the less developed regions, and the question of data integrity.
But at least the idea to transition to digital records of land is already underway and is expected to deliver an effective, transparent, and impartial system of land management.
Conclusion
We have seen land record computerisation in Pakistan as one of the key reforms that can revolutionalise the land administration sector through enhancing the quality of services through reduction in on corruption.
The government has continued to embark and improve on these policies as the result filters into better governance and economic growth.
Also read: Land Administration