Land ownership disputes are among the common property problems faced by property owners in Punjab. For the management of such issues, Punjab like all other provinces had a manual land record system which was managed by local land revenue officials ( Patwaris). This system had certain loopholes creating irregularities and delays. In the light of this, Punjab Land Records Authority (PLRA) was created as the main body conducting advanced land record management.
This blog will guide you through what PLRA is and what functions and responsibilities it holds.
What is Punjab Land Records Authority (PLRA)
The Punjab Land Records Authority (PLRA) was created in 2017 under the Board of Revenue, Punjab. The main purpose of its establishment was to replace the outdated patwari culture with a digital, and transparent land record system. This body mainly has the responsibility of managing ownership records, boundary details, and mutation (ownership transfer) processes across the province.
Functions of PLRA
Punjab Land Records Authority (PLRA) carries out multiple important functions the most prominent of which are:
- Maintains a centralized digital database of land ownership records
- Facilitates in online land registration and property transfers
- Issues digital copies of land documents such as Fard (record of rights), Green Property Certificate, Girdawri (crop inspection record), and registered deeds
- Conducts dispute resolution though traceable digital records
- Reduces the power held by patwaris
The Need For PLRA
PLRA is an advanced and digital form of land record management in Punjab before which paper based documentation and records were common. These paper records were kept and organized by local land revenue officials known as Patwaris. These system had its own problems some which are:
- Fraudulent transfers due to fake or duplicate documents
- Slow processing of mutations and ownership updates
- Limited accountability, since records existed in scattered physical registers
- Vulnerability of overseas Pakistanis, who couldn't monitor their land while living abroad, making them prime targets for illegal occupation, commonly referred to as land grabbing or the Qabza Mafia
Services of PLRA
The Punjab Land Records Authority (PLRA) maintains every essential information of a price of land in Punjab regarding its properties, owners, history of ownership and any associated disputes. On the basis of this info it offers a number of services to the local Arazi Record Centers and their online portal from where people can get required documents and services. Some main services provided include:
- Fard Issuance: Involves obtaining an official record-of-rights document for a property known as Fard
- Mutation Processing: Involves recording a change in ownership, whether through sale, inheritance, or gift. This process is called Mutation.
- Girdawri Records: Involves accessing crop and land-use inspection reports for agricultural land
- Registered Deed Copies: Involves retrieving certified copies of registered property documents
- Green Property Certificates: Involves a verification document increasingly used in property transactions known as Green Property Certificate.
Legal Reforms In Support Of PLRA
The government of Punjab brought forward two main legal reforms in 2026 which will work in coherence with PLRA to support the digitalization of the land record system. They are aimed to provide legal protection primarily to overseas Pakistanis.
These are:
| Ordinance | Key Provisions |
| Punjab Land Revenue (Amendment) Ordinance, 2026 | Mandates electronic maintenance of land records, introduces digital mutation systems and electronic notices, and limits traditional patwari powers mainly to inheritance-related matters. |
| Punjab Protection of Ownership of Immovable Property (Amendment) Ordinance, 2026 | Signed in February 2026. Establishes fast-track tribunals to address illegal land occupation. Complaints are sent to a Scrutiny Committee within 3 days, investigation reports are completed within 30 days, and tribunals issue final decisions within the following 30 days. |
Advantage Of PLRA’s Digital System
Needing to access PLRA is an important step when buying or selling property Punjab, and a digital system makes this step more convenient as it allows:
- Faster verification of ownership before finalizing a property transaction
- Reduced fraud risk, since digital records are harder to forge than paper documents
- Remote access, allowing overseas Pakistanis to check and manage records without traveling
- Legal backing, thanks to new ordinances that support digitized records in court proceedings
Punjab Land Records Authority (PLRA) is the main government institution in Punjab responsible for keeping and managing records of all sorts of land in the Province. Previously operated through Patwaris and paper records, PLRA has continuously been shifting to modernization through digitization and legal reforms to safeguard citizen property rights and to better manage land records along with convenient service provision.