A meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Reforming and Restructuring of Revenue and Estate Department, NWFP was held under the chairmanship of the NWFP Minister for Finance, Engineer Muhammad Humayun Khan in the Finance Department conference room on Monday.
The NWFP Minister for Revenue and Estate, Habibur Rahman Tanloi, Senior Member Board of Revenue, Ehsanullah Khan, Secretary Establishment, Mian Sahib Jan, Special Secretary Finance, Abdul Samad Khan and other officers attended the meeting.
The meeting expressed regret over the delay in computerisation of the Revenue and Estate Department and directed the officers to arrange a detailed briefing on the process as to why the computerisation of land reforms and improvement in the service delivery through information technology could not be implemented yet.
The cabinet committee allowed seven-day time to the department to present their reply on non-introduction of the process. It further decided to review the whole record of the government being computerised with a viable mechanism to identify the areas where the matter of land reforms and other issues could get proper coverage for the larger interest of the general masses.
The Minister for Finance told the meeting that the present government was taking keen interest in the reformation and restructuring of the Revenue and Estate Department with a motif to streamline working of the patwaris and other concerned staff and also to bring relief to the masses. Further, members of the Cabinet Committee were of the view that necessary recommendations could be finalised and will be presented to the NWFP cabinet to reform and improve the efficiency of the existing staff working in the R&E department.
The main items of the agenda was to recruit staff having better academic qualification and those who have knowledge and command on the info-tech to be used in the field. The committee also discussed the role of the Appellate courts for inspection and monitoring, orientation training courses for the revenue staff, working of the training academy, training of the R&E field staff and establishment of patwarkhanas.
The meeting debated in length on the upgradation of the post of patwaris, changes in the existing syllabus enabling old patwaris to become familiar with the info-tech system and to monitor the mistakes in the land record.