OKARA, May 23: After the implementation of private housing schemes policy in 2005, revenue officials have got more opportunities to fleece public. The last year policy wasn’t much different from the old one with a few exceptions keeping in view the increase in population and heavy government expenditure on provision of basic civic facilities. The burden of expenditure on the provision of facilities was shifted to the scheme developers.

But this seemingly better policy did not work mainly because of hurdles created by revenue staff, specially the patwaris, who are the most sought-after in this all-important department for being custodian of the land record.

If anyone approaches a patwari to get a copy of the ‘fard’ (ownership deed), he charges Rs200 to Rs2,000 whereas the official fee is Rs30. And when the sub-registrar sends the copy of a mutation deed to the patwari, he will not enter it in his record until bribed. If the mutation is of inherited property, one has to pay more than Rs2,000.

It is mandatory to prepare a fresh register (of jamabandi) after a certain period to include all land transactions and names of new owners/buyers. Each patwari is bound to prepare two fresh copies of jamabandi after four years, with one going to the Board of Revenue. But most of the patwaris do not follow it and cause a lot of inconvenience to fresh buyers.

Similarly, it is very difficult for the public to locate a patwari who seldom visits his office. If one is lucky enough to find him, the patwari will offer a number of excuses to delay the job. In the case of private housing schemes, patwaris find more leverage to fleece the public mainly because of the maladministration of the TMA which does not notify approved and unapproved/illegal projects. Patwaris do not issue the ‘fard’ of such schemes for being illegal but do the needful when bribed.

The TMA issued the list of approved schemes a couple of weeks ago when the NAB demanded the record but the patwaris are not ready to change their old habits. They are even flouting the order of the DCO in this regard.

The general public, developers and builders and lawyers have urged the government to do some serious business to change the revenue department culture.