LAHORE: A five-member delegation led by the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) director general visited Dubai to learn about the system followed by the Dubai Land Department (DLD) in real-estate transactions, development, ownership, possession, etc., Dawn has learnt.

The LDA plans to implement good practices followed by the Dubai Land Department (DLD) to introduce various reforms in the real estate sector, especially related to sale/purchase, transfer, and possession of property, eliminate fraudulent practices, and ensure transparency.

An official said the system followed in Dubai is paperless, ensuring 100% transparency in all property-related transactions.

The LDA has been facing serious issues related to property transactions, sellers, purchasers, possession, no-objection certificates, departmental reports, frauds, land grabbing, etc., in several of its housing schemes, especially Johar Town, Mustafa Town, Gujjarpura, Sabzazar, and Garden Town for a long time.

The LDA still has an old-fashioned property transfer system that requires the presence of both the seller and buyer at the time of property transfer. Both parties, with pictures, must sign various documents along with manual thumb impressions after submitting necessary fees in the bank through a decades-old challan system.

In contrast, the DLD system is paperless, transparent, and foolproof, leaving no room for unlawful and fraudulent practices. For property transfers, there is no need for sellers or buyers to visit the DLD, as they can complete the process through a dedicated application from anywhere in the world.

A delegation from the DLD had previously visited Lahore, holding meetings with senior Punjab government officials. During the meeting, an MoU was signed, under which the Dubai Land Department offered various services to the government in general and the LDA in particular to improve the system and bring it on par with the DLD.

“So the visit we paid was a follow-up one. This is the system where the chances of fraud are zero. This is the system where all real estate transactions are made through an escrow account. Therefore, no one can dare to do anything bad. This is the system which has been appreciated worldwide,” the official explained, adding that the visit was financially sponsored by the DLD. He said the DLD system also ensures the identification of all owners possessing one property in parts.

“In LDA, whenever we approve a map of a commercial building, we only have records of one or two owners. But when the owner completes his building and sells shops and flats to several people, we remain unable to get records of several such owners. But in the DLD, this is not possible,” he said, adding that though there were issues with the DLD in the past, they removed them by improving the system, which is yet to be adopted by the LDA. According to him, the government, firstly, will have to amend the old transfer of property act in line with the present era. “We are ready to adopt this system. But before this, we will have to amend the laws, rules, and regulations,” he suggested.

GAS: The SNGPL on Sunday disconnected 29 illegal gas connections, imposing fines totalling Rs600,000 for gas pilferage and other illegalities. In Lahore, the SNGPL team disconnected four connections for illegal gas use and imposed fines amounting to Rs 0.12 million. In Multan, 12 connections were disconnected for illegal gas use, with an additional two for using compressors. The Faisalabad team disconnected three connections for illegal use and levied fines of Rs 0.04 million. In Bahawalpur, three connections were cut for illegal gas use, and two more for compressor use. In Gujranwala, one connection was disconnected for illegal use, resulting in fines of Rs 0.19 million. The Sahiwal team disconnected two connections for illegal gas use, and in Sheikhupura, fines totalling Rs 0.308 million were imposed for gas theft.

CBD: Pakistan’s newly appointed ambassador to the United States, S Rizwan Saeed Sheikh, visited the Punjab Central Business District Development Authority (PCBDDA) to discuss potential opportunities to attract foreign investment and foster relations between Pakistan and the US. One notable outcome of the visit was the agreement to establish a PCBDDA Punjab NSIT facilitation desk at the Pakistani embassy in Washington.

Published in Dawn, July 15th, 2024