The Surveying and Mapping Act was assented to by the President of Pakistan in May 2014 after being passed by the National Assembly in order to regulate geospatial data.[1]
| Surveying and Mapping Act, 2014 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Parliament of Pakistan | |
| |
| Citation | Act No. I of 2014, No. F. 9(10)/2014-Legis. |
| Territorial extent | Whole of Pakistan |
| Passed by | National Assembly of Pakistan |
| Passed | March 31st, 2014 |
| Assented to | May 12th, 2014 |
| Legislative history | |
| Bill title | Surveying & Mapping Bill-2014 |
| Bill citation | No. 9 of 1st Parliamentary Year |
| Introduced by | Ministry of Defence |
| Status: In force | |
History
editIn 2012, the Land Surveying and Mapping Bill was proposed to entrust all mapping responsibilities in Pakistan to the Survey of Pakistan. The proposed bill would require all government and private agencies involved in surveying and mapping to register with the Survey of Pakistan; failure to comply would be punished with one year of imprisonment and a fine of up to one million rupees.[2] The Ministry of Defence argued that the mapping activities of unauthorised firms could go unchecked without a law or regulatory authority. The objectives of the proposed bill would be to prevent the unauthorised mapping of sensitive areas (a potential security risk), prevent damage to survey markers, avoid duplication of mapping efforts, and to make the Survey of Pakistan a National Mapping Agency.[3]
The bill was passed by Pakistan's National Assembly in 2014.[4]
Reception
editSyed Ali Asjad Naqvi, Research and Training Director at the Center for Economic Research in Pakistan (CERP), expressed bafflement towards the proposed bill, stating that it will hinder ongoing humanitarian efforts which employ mapping. Naqvi added that bills should be proposed by public representatives rather than the military.[5]
See also
edit- Geospatial Information Regulation Bill, 2016 (India)
References
edit- ^ Singh, Priyanka (2016-08-01). "Beyond Cartographic Assertion: A Roadmap on Pakistan Occupied Kashmir". Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses. Retrieved 2018-05-23.
- ^ Haider, Murtaza (2012-11-21). "Pakistanis lost without maps". Dawn. Pakistan Herald Publications. Retrieved 2018-05-23.
- ^ Ghumman, Mushtaq (2012-11-14). "Survey of Pakistan to be made national mapping agency: draft". Business Recorder. Karachi, Pakistan. Archived from the original on 2015-06-16. Retrieved 2018-05-23.
- ^ Mitra, Devirupa (2016-05-18). "Pakistan Objects to India's Map Bill But its Own 2014 Law Regulates Geospatial Data Too". The Wire. New Delhi, India: Foundation for Independent Journalism. Retrieved 2018-05-23.
- ^ Dad, Nighat (2012-11-28). "Pakistan Considering Bill that Would Ban Independent Mapping Projects". techPresident. Personal Democracy Media. Retrieved 2018-05-23.