ISLAMABAD: The Capital Development Authority has moved a step closer to ending manual property transfers after completing large scale digitisation of residential and commercial property records. Officials say the initiative will allow instant access to complete property histories and significantly reduce fraud delays and manipulation in the transfer process.
Through technical support from the Punjab Land and Revenue Authority the CDA has scanned millions of pages to create a central digital databank. Records of more than twenty three thousand residential properties across forty seven sectors and model towns along with over five thousand six hundred commercial properties including agro farms have been digitised from first allotment to last transfer.
CDA officials confirmed that the authority is now considering a complete shift to online transfers and allotments. Sector D Twelve has been selected as a pilot project where property transactions will be conducted fully online before expanding the system to other sectors. Officials say this will simplify transfers inheritance cases and ownership verification for citizens.
The move comes against the backdrop of repeated complaints about missing files forged allotments and record tampering under the manual system. In the past bona fide buyers faced serious legal and financial trouble after original files vanished or allotments were later declared fake following multiple transfers.
PLRA officials overseeing the digitisation said all available records are now accessible through an online dashboard. Under the new system property transfers will be processed through e filing with complete digital tracking. Every movement of a file will be logged and visible to authorised officers ensuring transparency and accountability.
CDA Chairman Muhammad Ali Randhawa said the initiative was launched on the directions of the prime minister and interior minister to facilitate the public and curb corruption. He said digitisation would create a permanent digital trail showing approvals timelines and officer responsibility while improving service delivery.
He added that digitisation of rural land records in the Islamabad Capital Territory is also underway in collaboration with PLRA with several revenue estates already completed. Officials believe the reforms will restore public confidence and modernise property management in the federal capital.
