Mandatory verification stalls property deals

Dealers say new field inspection requirement hampers registrations

RAWALPINDI:

Property buying and selling in Rawalpindi district has come to a standstill over the past five days after authorities made it mandatory for patwaris and girdawars to physically inspect properties, submit reports and issue land records before registration.

Property dealers claim the requirement has also rendered the newly introduced Green Property Certificate system ineffective.

Registrar offices have displayed notices stating that all properties offered for sale must be physically inspected, measured, have their boundaries verified and the name of the adjoining road recorded before registration can proceed. Since the measure took effect, new property registrations at both registrar offices in the tehsil complex have largely stopped.

According to the report, delays are mainly caused by patwaris and girdawars either failing to allocate inspection time or postponing visits. It alleges that inspections for those paying hefty unofficial payments are approved without officials visiting the site.

Property dealers, stamp vendors and citizens rejected the requirement, calling it a gateway to corruption.

Property Dealers Union Secretary Munawar Khan termed the mandatory inspections unlawful, saying the government introduces technical hurdles to property transactions every year.

He added that internet issues already hamper online registration and that the new inspection requirement has revived the old patwari system despite the introduction of Green Property Certificates.

He said the biggest burden falls on ordinary citizens and overseas Pakistanis. Transactions that previously took two days now take up to two weeks because coordinating inspections by both the patwari and girdawar has become difficult.