Land Titling
New irrigated land development is the largest component of ETI programme. The new developed land is supposed to benefit the small-holders not only in terms of increased area for production but also in terms of additional fungible assets for collaterals and other securitization usage. That is only possible if there are secure recorded titles for such land for the owners.
In Gilgit-Baltistan, there are different types of land holdings. The most relevant ones in the course of the implementation of the ETI-GB are the following:
Barren Land
A barren land is defined as a piece of fallow land or uncultivated land. In the context of Gilgit-Baltistan, the term “barren land” is mostly used when referring to “Khalisa land”.
Kalisa Land
A Khalisa land is a land under the ownership of the government; it is a state land.
Shamilat Deh
A Shamilat Deh is the common property owned by the villagers. The latter have equal share in case of a distribution of the land and they have equal rights in the use of the land, as defined in the waijb-ul-arz.
Allotment of land
Land allotment through ETI-GB will involve district land records cells and beneficiaries. Digitized maps and beneficiary data will be recorded in a new system. The District Revenue Administration will certify land classification and ownership before starting irrigation development.
In pursuance of ETI-GB’s aim to develop 50,000 thousand acres of land for cultivation, a new modern system of Land Titling needs to be developed to ensure that farmers’ rights over land is established and maintained by law. Currently, Gilgit-Baltistan is composed of settled and unsettled districts. Under ETI-GB, districts of Ghizer and Diamer are unsettled, and the districts of Astore and Ghanche are settled. Lands are being managed through informal and customary mechanisms, which gives rise to disputes between individuals and communities. After the introduction of a new system of Land Titling, the existing land records would be updated and digitized, allowing for effective land management.
- New irrigated land development is the largest ETI-GB component, targeting 50,000 acres—nearly doubling the current irrigated area. This aims to benefit smallholders by expanding production areas and providing assets for collateral and securitization, made possible through secure, recorded land titles for owners.
- The Program will ensure equitable land allocation among beneficiaries, giving landless and women-headed households a fair, secure, and legally enforceable share in the newly developed land.
- In Gilgit-Baltistan, the land titling and settlement system is still incomplete, lacking a Board of Revenue and fully operational Revenue Courts due to capacity issues. Developing new irrigation lands under ETI-GB requires a reliable system for land ownership classification, community share determination, and title awards. To address this, an Interim Land Development Regulation is proposed for approval by the Gilgit-Baltistan Lands Reforms Commission and the Cabinet.
Computerized settlement and land titling system
The ETI-GB will assist in procurement of servers and computers along with allied equipment for at provincial and district levels along with developing software for Computerization of land record and introducing a land titling regime. Basic equipment for putting in use the software for land records data of ETI sponsored land development and issuance of titles to the beneficiary households will be procured through project funding and installed at provincial and district offices.
ETI-GB will support district land records cells in recording data and maps of lands chosen for irrigation, along with beneficiary information. Digitized maps and beneficiary data, including allocated parcels, will be stored in a new computerized system. Before work begins, the District Revenue Administration will issue land classification and ownership certificates for each selected parcel.
