ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan Thursday directed all the provincial chief secretaries to immediately provide Provincial Land Records (PLRs) to the Surveyor General so that the cadastral mapping process could be completed.

He gave this direction while presiding over the weekly meeting of National Coordinating Committee for Housing, Construction and Development here. Surveyor General of Pakistan briefed the meeting on cadastral mapping.

The meeting was informed that mapping was underway in Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar and Quetta and data from other small towns and rural areas had been received and was being digitized. The forum was told that this process would eliminate problems with determining the actual ownership of the land and will help in better planning.

The boundaries of forests, Wapda, railways, endowments and other government lands will be determined. Cadastral mapping will help eliminate illegal occupations, resolve property disputes, expedite legal proceedings, correct errors in old records and conduct audits, it was told.

Chief Secretary Punjab apprised the meeting of the progress made so far in the master planning of cities in the province. The meeting was informed that work on master plan of five major cities and 16 medium and small towns of Punjab was in progress. Each master plan covers housing, commercial, health, education, sewerage, parks and other costs.

The prime minister said that in order to address the problems arising from the growing urban population, it was necessary to restructure the city master plan and adopt modern and international standard methods for master planning.

The prime minister also chaired a meeting on PIA, which was attended by Federal Minister for Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan, Advisor Dr. Ishrat Hussain, Senator Noman Wazir Khattak, Secretary Aviation Shaukat Ali, Air Marshal (R) Arshad Malik, CEO PIA, DG Civil Aviation and relevant senior officials.

Dr. Ishrat briefed the meeting on PIA’s restructuring strategy which would not only improve the financial position of PIA, but also extend its lucrative route and provide services on international lines. Air Marshal (R) Arshad Malik apprised the prime minister of the steps taken for the betterment of PIA and the positive impact it has had on the institution.

The prime minister directed implementation of the PIA restructuring strategy by completing the consultation process with all stakeholders as soon as possible. Terming PIA a national asset, the prime minister emphasized that the past of national airlines was glorious. He said the national flag carrier was committed to regaining its position internationally and making its operations profitable.

Publised in The News, December 25, 2020