Case Study Patwari - UN-HABITAT Pakistan

Case Study
Patwari- The Custodian of Land Record
Submitted by Muhammad Ayaz Raja
(Communication Officer)
Mr. Farooq Shah, 41 years old, is working as a Patwari of Barian Patwar Circle, District Neelum. He
has been working as Patwari for 22 years. He joined the Revenue Department in 1984 soon after his
matriculation examinations. He was of the view that this was his ideal job and still he is enjoying this
position. Patwaris after joining the Revenue Department get two years training in order to get fully
familiar with land record management system, traditional Lattha and land laws. They also get training
in Settlement of Land, Measurement of Land, Preparation and Protection of Land Record, and
Preparation of Lattha.
Mr. Farooq conducting the Revenue Verification (V2) in LVU office
He serves as a government representative in the area, and maintains all the land record of the area as
well as all the necessary information about the area such as how many families are living in a Patwar
circle, total number of houses, how much land is owned/occupied by the individuals, what kind of
land is there (fertile, irrigated, barren). He even knows about trees, fruits and crops which are being
produced.
Patwari plays a vital role and a range of activities including but not limited to maintenance of land
records, and dealing with emergency situations. He is a bridge between the government and the
community. Beside his actual responsibilities, his services are also needed in any situation such as
during elections, consensus or during any natural or man made disaster. He is needed by all. When it
was asked that how he knows about a person’s holding in his area and how he maintains record Mr.
Farooq told that they have very old revenue history and have old revenue record as well.
He said that they have old books and a piece of cloth which is called, “Lattha”. Lattha is a kind of
land map which indicates the ownership, land utilization and shape of land of individuals in the
Patwar circle. Through Lattha he can measure and make the boundary line of each land owner of the
area.
Mr. Farooq said, “I know each family of my area by names and knows how much land they possess.
All such details are at my finger tips.” He further said that every landowner has been allocated on
record and Lattha with a special number and can be identified through these allotted numbers which
are called “khasra numbers”. The language used in revenue record is very simple. He said that most of
the words are taken from the local language and once the revenue record is maintained than no one
can change it under any circumstances.

Mr. Farooq verifying/identifying the khasra number on Lattha
When it was asked that how much time is needed in land mutation he said, “In normal circumstances
it takes more than two months for getting the ownership of land”. He was asked that how much
amount is needed against taxes on five marlas of land he replied that it depends on the actual cost of
newly purchased land, for instance, if the actual cost of five marlas of land is 75,000 than the buyer
will have to pay 5000 to 7000 to the government.
According to him the Patwaries are directly supervised and monitored by the higher authorities.
Therefore, there is no chance of malpractice. He said that most of the time he stays in his area in order
to perform his job. He also appreciated the mechanism of Land Verification Unit (LVU) as well as the
transparency of the system. He said, “One Window Operation is a unique kind of practice and it saves
time as well as money”. Mr. Farooq also appreciated LIMS and emphasized that it should be adopted
by the government for land record keeping.