Context:

• Underlining that a corruption free government administration that is responsive to public’s needs is one of the most significant components of a democratic welfare state, the state government of Punjab has announced various technology based initiatives to enhance transparency in governance.

Key Points:

• Taking a major step in the direction, the Punjab State Housing and Urban Development Department has decided that it will undertake the ambitious exercise to digitise the khasra-based master plans in the state. The digitization will enable easier identification of the status and nature of the land, besides, checking the zoning of the land.
• In this regard, Punjab Housing and Urban Development Ministry has issued directions to the department officials to tie-up with Punjab Remote Sensing Centre (PRSC) team in order to further speed up this project to provide all information pertaining to land on a click. In this regard, while reviewing the status of the project, the ministry has pointed out that with the implementation of the project people will be able to identify their land online, besides, getting the information about the zoning plan of the area where the land falls.
• In order to ensure that the use of technology actually leads to streamlining of governance activities and ease of operation both for the authorities as well as end users, the Housing and Urban Development Ministry has issued directions to the Punjab Remote Sensing Centre team and the department officials to ensure that accuracy should be maintained while using the state-of-the-art latest technologies in the project.
• According to the concerned officials, the initiative will also be helpful for people in applying change of land use (CLU), besides enhancing transparency in the record maintenance mechanism. As per the the state government’s envisaged plans in this regard, so far 43 master plans have already been notified. Out of them, work on khasra-based digitisation has been initiated for 22 master plans. Under this project, the master plans are being superimposed on the cadastral map.