KARACHI: Sindh is preparing to widen its urban property tax records more than fivefold, from about 397,375 entries to roughly 2.15 million, through a World Bank-backed programme covering 20 local councils outside Karachi.
The Sindh Property Revenues Enhancement Program (SPREP) is valued at $150 million, comprising $110 million in results-based financing and $40 million in investment project financing. The Local Government Department will implement it to increase Urban Immovable Property Tax (UIPT) collection and improve municipal financial management.
According to the programme’s Stakeholder Engagement Plan, only about one-fifth of an estimated 2.1 million properties in the five targeted divisions are currently registered. Field teams will conduct a GIS-based, door-to-door survey of residential and commercial premises, geo-tagging each property into a new UIPT management information system. The plan stresses that the exercise is meant to build records, not issue tax demands.
The targeted councils are spread across Hyderabad (nine), Larkana (four), Sukkur (three), Mirpurkhas (two) and Shaheed Benazirabad (two), serving about 4.5 million residents. Wider institutional support will reach all 45 participating councils, including 25 in Karachi.
Beyond the survey, the programme will finance digitisation of Board of Revenue land records, a digital master plan linking land and tax systems, city surveys and a financial management information system for budgeting, accounting, payroll and expenditure.
To address privacy and accuracy concerns, the plan proposes advance notice of visits, identified enumerators and channels for residents to review and correct records. Monthly Town Citizen Committees and women-only consultations are planned to prevent exclusion of vulnerable groups.
The design draws on Karachi’s CLICK project, where the registered base reportedly rose from about 900,000 to 4.2 million properties after removing duplicates and out-of-mandate entries.
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