Quick digitisation of land record ordered

PESHAWAR:

Special Assistant to Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Chief Minister on Revenue and State, Taj Muhammad Khan Tarand on Wednesday directed quick completion of land record digitization in the newly merged districts.

During a visit to the office of Director of Land Records, he directed the officials of K-P Revenue Department to avoid any further delay on the project and ensure that all stakeholders, including the political ones, are taken on board.

He was given a detailed briefing on the project during which it was informed that all the newly merged districts had been divided into seven subdivisions i.e. Hasan Khel, Landi Kotal, Bajaur, Wazir Bannu, Upper Kuram, Lower Kuram and Dara Adam Khel. Their land records had been updated using GIS.

The project was the first of its kind to be launched in Pakistan for the settlement and digitalisation of land records.

Taj said that the project would help overcome most of the problems in land records as these would be computerized and saved and then could be easily accessed.

It would ensure greater transparency and accountability, while also completely eliminating measurement errors, illegal encroachments, and other malpractices in the land record system, he added.

The special assistant said that the vacant posts in the project should be filled immediately and the shortage of staff in all subdivisions should also be filled so that work on the project could continue uninterrupted.

It was the top priority of the provincial government to provide a better and sustainable environment to the people of the erstwhile Fata, he stressed, adding that many mega projects had also been started for the socioeconomic development of those people.

Director Revenue Ijazur Rehman, Project Director Capt (Retd) Muhammad Bilal and other senior officials were present on the occasion.

It is worth mentioning here that since the merger of the former Fata into K-P province, personal feuds have increased manifold in the tribal districts without inviting any attention.

One of the main reasons responsible for these disputes and subsequent clashes between individuals, clans is the lack of land settlement in these districts.

Due to the absence of land records every one tries to grab the land using traditional armed methods.

In the past a powerful political agent kept such conflicts under control as the collective responsibility clause was a potent deterrent in his hand plus he had the power to call a Jirga of both the parties using maliks who were paid by the authorities for their efforts and the Jirga verdict had a legal standing as the assistant political agent (APA) enjoyed administrative, financial as well as judicial powers. He also controlled the khasadar force as well as levies’ force and due to it, it was not possible to challenge his authority easily.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 28^th, 2022.