The system of maintenance of Land Records in the areas comprising Punjab was initially developed for the purpose of revenue collection. The codified system of written land records was developed after the British occupied Punjab. Land Revenue was a major source of income for the state and maintenance of current land records was a prerequisite for that. Although Land Revenue has been abolished, the system of maintenance of land records persists as an essential function of the government. There have been various attempts to modernize the system since the 1970’s through introduction of computer technology. Land Records Management and Information Systems Project is attempting to build on the successes of the previous attempts, learning from the mistakes and failures of these attempts.

The Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (December, 2003) of the Government of Pakistan (GOP) highlights the importance of the rural economy for poverty reduction and sustained economic growth. Given that land is at the heart of agriculture and the rural economy in Pakistan, particularly in Punjab Province, land ownership and administration issues are of key importance. Inequalities of land distribution, tenure insecurity, and difficulties associated with the land administration and registration system are closely interrelated and continue to impose significant constraints on both rural and urban populations, particularly the poor.

Land transactions are relatively high cost (containing a high proportion of informal costs), and disputes about the authenticity of land rights are caused, among others, by the inefficient and dispersed land records system. As a result land markets are thin and land prices are in excess of the discounted value of potential agricultural earnings from land. The low mobility of land contributes to perpetuating the highly unequal distribution of land and, thus, livelihood opportunities.