LAHORE: Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has said land record of 23,000 villages across the province has been computerised paving the way for eliminating disputes, unnecessary litigation, corruption and irregularities in matters relating to non-movable properties as well as ridding the people of patwari culture.

Speaking at the Land Records Management and Information Systems (LRMIS) completion ceremony at Aiwan-i-Iqbal on Saturday, Shahbaz vowed that computerisation of urban property would also be started and completed expeditiously.

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He said the Punjab government would carry out legislation in the assembly to further strengthen the land record system. He also announced that land record centres had started extending services in 143 tehsils of the province. He claimed LRMIS had helped correct some five million errors, while 100 officials found involved in corruption were removed from service.

Comparing the land record project with a similar project in another province, the chief minister said World Bank representatives had declared the land record computerisation project in Punjab splendid and transparent whereas the Supreme Court in its observation in a case also commended it. He announced third party validation of the project would be arranged twice a year due to which transparency would be maintained.

Addressing his critics in Sindh, Shahbaz said Punjab did not make a hue and cry when the NAB started inquiries in Punjab, instead it was extending all-out cooperation for investigation. He said he was ready to face any punishment or quit politics if corruption of even a single penny during all his three tenures was proved against him. He told the NAB that corruption committed by tehsildars and patwaris was much more than the total corruption in Pakistan and asked the bureau to investigate.

The chief minister also reiterated his resolve to eliminate child labour from brick kilns saying a package had already been introduced for equipping children working at kilns with modern education. However, he said, kiln owners through their strikes wanted to continue forced labour, but the government would not be deterred by such tactics.

Published in Dawn, March 6th, 2016