Land mafia would be contained:Shahbaz Sharif

Lahore:   Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif has said that as a result of computerization of land record in the province no one will be able to exploit the people in obtaining the “Fard” of their property and they will also get rid of land mafia. He said that computerization of land record is being carried out expeditiously in 22 districts of the province. He said that 26 service centres have been made operational while the process of data entry in other 12 districts will soon be started. He said that despite spending millions of rupees in the last era, no progress was made towards land record computerization. But, he said, Muslim League-N government has also turned this graveyard of corruption into monument to development.

He was presiding over a high level meeting regarding Land Record Management Information System (LRMIS), here today. Provincial Law Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan, Senior Member Board of Revenue, Secretary Information, Commissioner Lahore Division, DCO Lahore, Chairman Punjab Information Technology Board, Project Director LRMIS, DCO Lodhran besides concerned officials were also present. The Chief Minister said that Land Record Information System is a public welfare and revolutionary programme of the Punjab government which is being speedily implemented. He said that as a result of this programme, people will get rid of the existing centuries old exploitative culture. He said that the masses will be saved from the corruption of Patwris and Tehsildars and such a speedy and corruption- free system will come into existence which will give an easy access to the people to information and documents regarding their land.

He said that Punjab government is following the policy of promotion of transparency in every sector and computerization of the record of land and properties is a part of this policy. He said that under this system, people will not face any difficulty in obtaining the Fard of their property in a corruption-free manner. The Chief Minister directed that qualified IT experts should be recruited on merit for this project. He further directed that the process of settlement of land should be completed as early as possible in Lahore. He said that this project has been started for the benefit of the people and therefore an effective campaign should be launched to apprise them of the importance of the project. He said that no concrete progress was made regarding implementation of the project in the tenure of last government, however, the present government has taken solid measures for this purpose due to which land record has been computerized in many districts.

He said that administration of the top three districts showing outstanding performance in land computerization will be rewarded. He directed that the project should be implemented in a professional manner and Punjab Information Technology Board should extend all out technical assistance in this regard. The Chief Minister directed Senior Member of Board of Revenue that the process of transfer of state land to the government in each district should immediately be started.

The Chief Minister expressed satisfaction over the pace of LRMIS and described this programme as a milestone in the elimination of corruption. The Chief Minister was given a detailed briefing regarding the pace of implementation of land record management information system. It was informed that about 900 villages have been made operational under this modern system while the number of service centres is also being increased. The citizens can contact on universal number 042-111-222-277 for getting information about their land and solution of their problems.