LAHORE, March 11: District nazim Mian Amar Mahmood has said computerised patwar centres would be set up at the Lahore Khas, Chuhng, Niaz Beg, Manga, Marakka, Shahdara, Nawankot and Sanda qanoongoes to dispense with the hold of patwaris on the land record.

Inaugurating a newly-built computerised patwar centre at Pajian village near Raiwind on Saturday, he said people continued complaining about lack of access to land record and patwaris because the record was in the bags (basta) of patwaris and they worked on private premises. The city district government was building patwar khanas (offices) for them and computerising the land record to dispense with the complaints.

He said Pajian centre had been built on 13 kanals at a cost of Rs13 million. It housed the offices of 24 patwaris and record of two qanoongoes. The land owners of the area would now have access to the record and get computerised ownership certificates from the patwar centre on payment of prescribed fee.

He said computerisation of land record would eliminate possibility of fraud and reduce civil litigation, 82 per cent of which was related to land ownership disputes.

He said record of 101 of 115 villages in Lahore city tehsil had been computerised. The record of remaining villages would be computerised by March 30. Computerisation of Lahore Cantonment land record would start next month.

Mian Amar said Lahore was the first district in the country to start computerisation of land record. Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi had ordered the use of software developed by the city district government for computerisation of land record in Gujrat and Rahim Yar Khan districts. The World Bank inspection team had examined the project and recommended its introduction in other districts. The project had also been approved by President Gen Musharraf, State Bank governor, Board of Revenue senior member and Planning and Development chairman.