Establishing online property ownership verification in Pakistan is a historic move by the Punjab and Sindh Govt. It was a hectic process previously when owners would physically visit the registrar’s office, stand in queues, and get their properties verified. Thanks to digitalization, the long hours of the process are shrunk to mints and that is in the comfort of the home.  

The concerned authorities have launched a system to check property ownership in Pakistan online. Undoubtedly, anything that saves time and energy in a fast-paced lifestyle is efficient. The digital system facilitates property owners by creating ease of verification and maintaining land records to minimize corruption and fraudulent activities. MGC Blogs will discuss in detail the digital era of land verification. 

Punjab Land Authority – Online Property Ownership Verification

The Punjab government has taken a much-needed initiative to digitalize the land records in Punjab, to ensure transparency and exclude wrongful deeds and corruption. The authority works through the PLRA Act 2017 under the administrative control of the Board of Revenue, Govt of Punjab. You can visit the PLRA website and explore various services including online fard, property registration, and sale deed e-registration. 

Property owners can follow the below-mentioned steps for Online Property Ownership Verification;

• If your property is in Punjab, visit the website https://www.punjab-zameen.gov.pk/ 
• If your property is in Sindh, visit the website https://sindhzameen.gos.pk/ 
• Select your district, tehsil, and area from the sidebar
• By entering your valid CNIC number, and property number, you can easily check the ownership of your property

The Pre-digital Era of Patwaris 

Who isn’t aware of the defamed patwari system of Pakistan? Well, the discreditable Patwaris are powerful earth creatures who can alter land records with only a pen stroke. Thus benefitting the mafias and creating years-long hurdles of land ownership, verifications, and approvals for the real owners. 

But who is a patwari? A Patwari is a part of the Deputy Commissioner’s organization meant to maintain land records in a district. The team also includes tehsildars and naib tehsildars. 

A patwari manages all the land records of two to four villages. It includes; jamabandi (record of rights), register intkal (mutations register), khasra girdawari (harvest inspection registrar), shajra nasb (genealogy table), field maps, field measurement books, and roznamcha waqaiti (daily journal).

Before we embraced a digital land record system, most landowners faced issues of record tampering and corruption as the process of manual records was easy to manipulate according to the vested interest of the feudal. The patwaris prevailed and people were denied their inherited lands. 

Since 2001, when the Board of Revenue Punjab was computerized, the province and its people have been trying to eliminate the negative impacts of patwari system. We were near to the extent of achieving the goal, according to an official statement by the Punjab Land Records Authority 90% of records in 39 districts are digitalized as 150 land centers in Punjab are under the process of being digitalized. Thanks to the Land Record Management Information System (LRMIS), now you don’t have to pay the patwaris to search for property ownership. 

Digitalizing the property ownership and verification system can be one of the steps towards transparency. However, digitalizing the patwaris can be a breakthrough, as we hear news of the government’s initiative to provide digital education to 3000 patwaris. 

CDA Online Property Ownership Verification

Conforming to the needs of citizens and a vision to create ease, CDA has launched an Online Property Ownership Verification system. Save time, and avoid hustle, here are the easy steps to verify your property online. Visit the CDA website http://www.cda.gov.pk/ and click on online verification 

• Enter your property details, allotment letter number, transfer letter number, or property registration number. 
• Enter your CNIC number
• Once your identity is authenticated, now you can view the details of your property; ownership information, property type, and location. 
• Once the property is verified, you can easily download the verification certificate which will be the proof of your ownership.