GUJRAT: The Punjab Board of Revenue (BoR) has decided to launch a massive exercise of registering the computerised national identity cards (CNICs) of all the land holders and their biometric verification to store data in the Land Record Management Information System (LRMIS) to check fraudulent practices.

In this connection, the additional deputy commissioners (revenue) of all the districts in Punjab have been directed by the BoR secretary (taxes) to make arrangements for informing the landowners about the initiative through different means of communication.

The exercise is aimed at collecting personal data of landowners to check fraudulent practices of changing the land revenue record through storage of the data in the LRMIS.

The assistant commissioners have been asked to display banners in their respective offices to inform the masses of the initiative, whereas the patwaris have been directed to make public announcements for the purpose through loudspeakers in the mosques and other means in their respective revenue circles.

Similarly, the sub-registrars in tehsils will also inform those visiting their office for mutation about the arrangement.

It has also been ordered that the issuance of Fard (ownership document) and mutation will be subject to registration of the claimant’s CNIC and his/her biometric verification.

The in charges of the Arazi Record Centres (ARCs) have also been asked to dedicate at least two counters for the purpose of CNIC registration and biometric verification of those seeking land documents.

The village lumberdars have also been asked to motivate the land owners to visit the ARCs for registration of their CNICs and biometric verification.

However, the officials of land revenue department and the ARCs apprehend that sudden launch of the initiative may result in a massive influx of visitors at their already overburdened offices, further increasing the workload.

An official said that how a large number of landowners under 18 years of age would be registered as they did not have CNICs.

Published in Dawn, February 25th, 2020