Cadastral mapping

PM Imran's quest for documenting economy, and evolving a public sector on lines of transparency is laudable

In a first of its kind in pursuit of change, the government plans to digitise the land and revenue records of the country. A cadastre record is an essential piece of database that integrates in a scientific manner details of land in correspondence with its existing market value, along with hereditary traces of ownership. It is a must for civil societies where taxation forms a cardinal base of economy. With the induction of technology in all walks of life, developed societies have scanned and mapped personal and property data in an attempt to further security, and to do away with forgeries of all kinds. The decision to cadastral the landmass under the supervision of Survey of Pakistan is a step in the right direction.

Prime Minister Imran Khan’s quest for documenting the economy, and evolving a public sector on the lines of transparency and rule of law is laudable. His attempts to reform the tax base and digitising it for the convenience of taxpayers is a case in point. Likewise, linking the identity card data for one-click services in all walks of life will eliminate frauds. Thus, comes the indispensable task of land revenue records, which are the most unpleasantly and mysteriously maintained data in our annals. This is why there are rampant incidents of fires in government revenue offices, and subsequent tampering of records in connivance of concerned officials, especially the British-legacy custodian called Patwari.

The fact that the mapping and digitisation of entire Pakistan will be completed within six months, after the initial pilot projects in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad, is quite relieving. As rightly stated by the PM, overseas Pakistanis will be the prime beneficiary as their hard-earned money invested in real estate is often duped by fraudsters who tamper land records. Moreover, from hereditary point of view it will come as a relief for common man, who can easily trace and transfer property without much ado. At a time when Pakistan is experiencing a construction boom, the process of cadastral mapping will do away with land grabbing nuisances and buoy taxation.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 10^th, 2021.

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