Developing a Framework for Improving the Quality of a Deteriorated Land Administration System Based on an Exploratory Case Study in Pakistan

Authors

• Zahir Ali
• Arbind Tuladhar
• Jaap Zevenbergen

Keywords:

Land administration systems, Institutional elements, Technical elements, Framework for quality improvement

Abstract

As in numerous other countries, the present Land Administration System (LAS) in Pakistan is not up-to-date and can even be considered as deteriorated. It is entirely based on paper land records and maps lacking standards with outdated information stored at different administrative levels of the responsible agencies. Such practice restricts the usefulness of reliable and quality land information for supporting tenure security to citizens, socio-economic development, and urban/rural development including infrastructure. To be able to understand, analyse and ultimately improve the present situation, this paper develops a framework for improving the quality of LAS. It gives ample attention to elements of an institutional and of a technical nature. In order to identify such elements to be included in the framework, theoretical perspectives on both institutional and technical aspects are firstly discussed. The selection of elements is done which is based on this in combination with the results from the case study. The exploratory case study was conducted in the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) of Pakistan. The main outcomes of this case study are described here, leading to two results. On the one hand, an initial picture of the institutional and technical situation of the LAS in Pakistan is depicted (to be detailed in further research). On the other hand, this picture is used to select the elements to be included in the framework for improving the quality of a deteriorated LAS. The selected elements are presented including their application to the case of Pakistan. Finally, the framework is developed that will help to describe, analyse and ultimately improve a deteriorated LAS.