Evaluation of the World Bank's Punjab Urban Development Project
This study was conducted on behalf of the World Bank Mission entrusted with the responsibility of devising an urban sector development project for the Punjab. The work involved an evaluation of the administrative structure of Local Governments and Development Authorities in the Punjab and their ability to perform their functions from the resources available at their command. The study examined the different sources of revenue, in particular the structure of property tax, and made recommendations on the methods and mechanisms for mobilizing additional resources.
Shelter for Low Income Communities
Member of World Bank Mission responsible for evaluating and designing a Shelter for Low Income Communities Project for Pakistan. The nature of responsibilities included the review of the consultants' report and the economic and financial analysis of the project.
Review of the Prime Minister of Pakistan's Shelter Program
As part of the World Bank Mission, carried out a review of the Prime Minister of Pakistan's Housing Program for the Shelterless. The specific areas of responsibility included an evaluation (separately for urban and rural areas) of the developing scenario of land markets and an in-depth examination of the problems that place a variety of constraints on the ability of local governments to satisfactorily fulfill their obligations.
The report recommended policy measures on the essential components of the institutional framework, including those at the organization and operational level that could address the issues concerned with the housing needs of the less privileged segments of the population.
Study on Land Tenure
As part of a World Bank study on Shelter for Low Income Communities conducted a study on the issues of land tenure. The study involved an examination of the relevant legislation connected with the rights of tenure or occupancy in both urban and rural areas, the system of registration of land related transactions, the implementation of these laws, paying special attention to implementation techniques and procedures, the institutional arrangements for recording property transfers and maintaining the records or rights, how these laws, the institutional structures, and associated practices interact with the dynamics of the land markets and impact upon the availability of land for housing. The report prepared for this project concluded by making proposals on how legislation and the related implementation practices can be rationalized so as to facilitate transactions in land and improve the supply of land for shelter.
Study of Land Records in Karachi
This study was carried out for the World Bank Mission responsible for appraising the Sindh Urban Development Project. The study reviewed the systems for recording land transactions maintained by the land registries of different agencies in Karachi. It evaluated the quality of the land information system established by each agency for its own specific purposes and for processing requests for information from different users of the system. It examined the theoretical and actual procedures of conveyance, the methods used for assessing value for levying charges, the types of transactions registered, the extent of usage and non-usage of the system, the structure of fees, the costs of land transactions, the element of risk, and the recourse to justice.
The recommendations of the report dealt with steps for achieving the objective of title registration, methods for checking irregularities associated with land transactions and minimizing the extent of avoidance and evasion of different fees and taxes, ways of improving inter-agency coordination and strengthening institutional capacities to fulfill functional obligations. It also proposed the external design of a computerized system for the agency responsible for assessing and collecting property tax.
Institutional and Legal Arrangements for Management of Urban Land
This report was prepared for UNCHS. It concerned itself with the institutional and legal aspects of urban land management in Lahore. It examined the social, cultural and official attitudes towards land, the functioning of land markets, the political economy of investment in land, the legal framework that facilitates speculation in land, the controlling mechanisms used by the Government and the pattern of growth of squatter settlements. | 
