GUJRAT: Settlement of land revenue record started here around a decade ago is likely to be completed within a month.

Settlement of some 1,068 out of the total 1,084 revenue estates (villages) had so far been completed whereas computerisation of the record was underway but at a snail’s pace.

District Coordination Officer (DCO) Liaquat Ali Chattha said he was hopeful of completion of the computerisation within the next three months instead of the stipulated time of Dec 31.

The Punjab government had taken notice of delay in the process six months ago. The then DCO Asif Bilal Lodhi had sought until December to complete it. However, the process was still incomplete and going on at a slow pace.

Even after exclusion of 50 revenue estates from the settlement process a few months back that were either located within the urban population or suburban areas, the authorities concerned could not get the task done.

As per official data, computerisation of land record of at least 467 villages out of the total 1,084 had so far been completed and the updated record would be linked with the Punjab government’s online database.

DCO Chattha said the revenue department had been working expeditiously and hopefully the process would help eradicate corruption in the department after computerisation of the land record.

PTI rally: The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) will be responsible for any incident of suffocation or stampede, while the district administration for the security of the Oct 24 public meeting of the party at the Zahoor Elahi Stadium.

This was decided at a meeting between the district chapter of the PTI and the district government here on Wednesday. PTI’s Gujrat district president Chaudhry Ilyas, secretary-general Chaudhry Sharafat and Mir Shehzad Afzal signed a written agreement with Gujrat District Officer (Coordination) Shuja Qutab Bhatti.

Gujrat DCO Liaquat Ali Chatha also issued a written permission to the PTI for holding a public meeting at the latter’s desired venue.

The district government, police and other law enforcement agencies have been raising objections on PTI’s decision of holding the public meeting at Zahoor Elahi stadium in anticipation of the convergence of bigger crowd than the actual capacity of the stadium.

The authorities apprehended that convergence of more than the capacity crowd might result in occurrence of suffocation and stampede like situation inside the stadium.

On Wednesday, both parties reached an agreement only after the PTI assured the district administration in writing that it would be responsible for any such incident inside the venue while security arrangements, inside and outside the stadium, would be the responsibility of the government.

As per the agreement, the PTI volunteers will assist the police in frisking participants before allowing them entry into the stadium whereas police can check any participant even inside the venue.

The police personnel will also guard the stage and the whole stadium with deployments at the rooftop and in the surroundings of the stadium.

Only a few vehicles of the VVIPs will be allowed to enter the main gate of the stadium, but the PTI will provide a list of registration numbers of such vehicles in advance.

The grounds of Zamindar College, Science College and Swedish College have been allocated for the parking of vehicles as the traffic plan has also been finalized between both parties.

Published in Dawn, October 23rd, 2014