Survey to record condition of city slums

The government has approved a survey of all Muslim and Christian community slums across the province including Rawalpindi division. The survey will commence in early November and be completed by December 31.

A complete survey of all the slums built on land owned by Kashmiri and Awqaf Department will be conducted. These slums have existed across Rawalpindi for the past several decades. Currently, there are a total of 61 slums in Rawalpindi division. The land documents of slum owners who have been occupying the areas for a long time will be digitised through this survey and they will be given ownership rights, while the land of illegal occupants will be vacated.

All the slums will be upgraded after the completion of the survey. Basic facilities, including water, electricity and gas will be provided to these slums alongside the paving of streets and drains.

The staff of the Revenue and the Local Government Department will jointly conduct a door-to-door survey in these slums. They will collect data regarding the structure of the houses, such as differentiating between dwellings made of concrete and those made of makeshift materials. The houses' acreage and working facilities will also be accounted for.

The Revenue Department has already formed teams for the survey and lists with relevant details about the slums have been handed to them. After the survey, all those who own properties in the slums will be provided with formal ownership rights and their slum status will be terminated.

A spokesperson from the Revenue Department said that this survey will be conducted with complete integrity.

They also communicated that in case any team member demands money from survey participants, they should file a complaint against them immediately. Citizens have also been urged to provide accurate data.