DIGITIZATION OF LAND RECORDS IN INDIA -AN OVERVIEW Dr. Shilpi Bhalla ABSTRACT The Digital India Land Record Modernization Programme (DILRMP) is launched by Government of India in August 2008 aimed to modernize management of land records, minimize scope of land or property disputes, enhance transparency in the land records maintenance system and facilitate moving eventually towards guaranteed conclusive titles to immovable properties in the country. The major components of the programme are computerization of all land records including mutations, digitization of maps and integration of textual and spatial data, survey/re-survey and updation of all survey and settlement records including creation of original cadastral records wherever necessary, computerization of registration and its integration with the land records maintenance system, development of core Geospatial Information System (GIS) and capacity building. The main objective of the DILRMP is to develop a modern, comprehensive and transparent land records management system in the country with the aim to implement the conclusive land-titling system with title guarantee, which will be based on four basic principles, i.e., (i) a single window to handle land records (including the maintenance and updating of textual records, maps, survey and settlement operations and registration of immovable property), (ii) the mirror principle, which refers to the fact that cadastral records mirror the ground reality, (iii) the curtain principle which indicates that the record of title is a true depiction of the ownership status, mutation is automated and automatic following registration and the reference to past records is not necessary, and (iv) title insurance, which guarantees the title for its correctness and indemnifies the title holder against loss arising on account of any defect therein. Keywords: Digital India, Land Transformation, Management system I. INTRODUCTION Due to recent land scam Modi government in year 2016-17 took an important step and supported The Land Transformation Management System to tackle the nuisance of illegal land acquisition cases. This will put an end to age old malpractices of fraud in land transactions. Land being the costliest asset in realty has often been the focus of land fights, property crimes and frauds. Way back in 1988, the central government then sponsored the Computerisation of Land Records (CoLR) scheme to tackle the recurring problems owing to inadequate land records system. Again in 2008-09, an attempt was made by launching the ambitious National Land Records Modernisation Programme. Under this programme, land record computerisation and digitisation, a responsibility of the states, was supposed to cover all 620 districts of the country by 2017 at the close of the 12th Plan. The scheme did not see much headway as it proved to be a challenging one from the cost perspective. In the Budget 744 P a g e
2016, the digitisation of land records had been relaunched under the National Land Records Modernisation Programme. It is said modernisation of management of land records will minimise the scope of land disputes, and enhance transparency in the land records maintenance system. The system due to be implemented from 1 April, 2016. Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley allocated Rs 150 crore for the digitisation of national land records, a necessary step, which was why the programme was backfiring in the past. In past the absence of any effective land records maintenance system was one of the biggest challenges that gripped India in land ownership issue. Here, one was only presumed to be an owner and not a conclusive owner of land unless proved otherwise. Apart from this, inaccurate physical records and security issues of sharing land records publicly were some areas of concern. The government too, faced difficulties. Many a times, land acquisition for development projects were done but the 7/12 land extract (an extract from the land register maintained by the revenue department) did not reflect these changes. Thus, the land acquired was fraudulently sold to another person by taking advantage of this loophole. In some cases, people had mortgaged acquired properties for obtaining bank loans, stated a revenue official. II.. LAND TRANSFORMATION MANAGEMENT SYSTEM The main components of the programme are: computerisation of all land records including mutations, digitisation of maps and integration of textual and spatial data, survey/re-survey and updation of all survey and settlement records including creation of original cadastral records wherever necessary, computerisation of registration and its integration with the land records maintenance system, development of core Geospatial Information System (GIS) and capacity building. In the digitisation process, the tehsildars would first compile land data. Complete details of a parcel of land, from the original owner, period of ownership, year of purchase to number of transactions to the current status of land, the revenue officials need to collect all these details and take an image of the land (property). For records on land availability, a fresh survey of lands would be conducted and every parcel of land counted and details noted. After this, digitisation process begins. Online data would be compared with the manual data to rule out any errors. Digitisation of land records would ensure requisite details - map of the land, mutation, photo ID, etc. a step towards conclusive ownership. At the behest of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, all land records now will be integrated with Aadhaar, a step taken to monitor the successful implementation of crop insurance scheme. A bill recently passed in Parliament has made Aadhaar mandatory for residents to avail themselves of any public service.clarity on land ownership would also reveal the quantum of land possessed by a person. Most importantly, people would be able to purchase land, give deeds, and do mutation entry and all kinds of land transactions fearlessly at the press of a button.online registration will delete any confusion about which land has been earmarked as government land. The government and revenue officials would have the exact details of land available at hand post digitisation. The government land would be safe from encroachers. Recently, Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) decided to digitise the land records pertaining to 7,757 acres of land in the city just to protect the prime land not utilised which is located in the outskirts of the city. 745 P a g e
III. ISSUES WITH THE CURRENT SYSTEM The records maintained by the authorities are primarily used for fiscal purposes. The function of providing proof of title is purely ancillary to the purpose of collecting land revenue. Thus, titles to land are purely presumptive. Registration only puts an agreement between two parties on public notice but says nothing about the legal validity of the underlying transaction. This leaves titles secured through registration open to challenge in the courts of law. The Indian judicial system is currently buckling under the weight of a three-crore case backlog, 70 percent of which pertain to disputes regarding land or property. Registrars will register any instrument received without checking its validity in the absence of countervailing claims. The Registration Act, 1908 does not require vetting the validity of documents and transactions. Due to a lack of coordination between the various nodal agencies handling land records, the information registered is not standardised. This leads to ambiguity in terms of the nature of rights being transferred by the transaction and the boundaries of the land being transacted. Further, records are not updated promptly. Thus, they rarely reflect the true nature of ownership of a particular parcel of land. A report of the CAG showed that there was a backlog of some 124,325 cases for registration of property in 2015.The current system is rife with corruption. Experts estimate that each year, USD 700 million in bribes are being exchanged at registrar offices across the country. The system has also led to the proliferation of an informal credit sector. Most poor farmers in India, due to a lack of formal title to their land, cannot use it as collateral against a credit transaction. As a result, formal credit institutions are inaccessible to most farmers, leaving them at the mercy of informal moneylenders.the DILRMP is still heavily reliant on government functionaries to act as trusted third parties to process deeds and verify data. This leaves the system vulnerable to inefficiency and iniquity. Recent data from the DILRMP show that in most States, the digital land record database has not been integrated with the digitised land registration database. This deficiency of data hinders the seamless verification of documents submitted for registration. Village Accountants and patwaris tend to display apathy towards cross-referencing and verifying data, resulting in innumerable delays. This system is also vulnerable to cyber-attacks. A cyber-attack on a digital land registry could result in the loss or theft of important data. Despite of the challenges and issues face by the Government still a positive approach is seen and implementation is slow but due to so much challenges still the digitisation of land records, apart from providing conclusive titles to land owners and speeding up the process of land acquisition, also could lead to a buildup of local revenues through improved property tax billing and collection. Below tables show the progress and we can come to a conclusion that in all states either the progress fast or slow but it is moving towards digitisation. 746 P a g e
State-wise Physical Progress as on 16th March, 2016 S. No. Activity States/UTs who have completed the Activity 1 Computerization of Land Records (31 States/UTs) Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Goa, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu, Puducherry, Bihar, Jharkhand, Kerala, Assam, Manipur (Partial), WEest Bengal (Partial),Andaman and Nicobar (Partial),Chandigarh(partial),Delhi(partial), Lakshadweep(partial), 2 Computerization of Property Registration (30 States/UTs) Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Goa, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan,Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Chandigarh, Dadra Nagar Haveli, Delhi and Puducherry, Daman and Diu, Manipur(partial), Andaman & Nicobar(partial), Lakshadweep(partial) 3 Integration of Land Records and Property Registration (11 States/UTs) Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Odisha, Tripura, Telangana and Puducherry (Partial),West Bengal (Partial) 4 Stoppage of manual issue of Record of Rights (RORs) (18 States/UTs) Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Goa, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Punjab, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal (partial) and Puducherry 5 RORs on the Web (22 States/UTs) Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Goa, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, 747 P a g e
Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Dadra Nagar Haveli, Puducherry, West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand 6 Bhu-naksha customization done (15 States/UTs) Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Nagaland, Odisha, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Mizoram 7 Digitally Signed RORs(7 States/UTs) Goa, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Tripura, Rajasthan 8 Integration of BhuNaksha with ROR and as a service to the public on the website(5 States/UTs) Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Tripura, Odisha, Jharkhand 9 Linking with Aadhaar(5 States) Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Haryana, Tripura, Maharashtra Provision in the software for capturing Aadhaar-Himachal Pradesh 10 Capacity building(19 States/UTs) Gujarat, Sikkim, West Bengal, Puducherry(UT), Uttarakhand, Odisha, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Nagaland, Mizoram, Andaman & Nicobar, Lakshadweep, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh Source: Not based on NLRMP-MIS data. It has been compiled based on telephonic interactions with State/ UT NIC centres and it has not been formally vetted by State Governments / UT Administration.This Physical progress is as on 16th March 2016. FINANCIAL PROGRESS (Release of Funds & Utilization reported) under the DILRMP (As on 31.03.2016) SI.NO. States/UTs Funds released Districts covered Utilization Reported Unspent Balance 1 Andhra Pradesh 5505.44 13 2204.19 3301.25 2 Arunachal Pradesh 1207.42 3 0.00 1207.42 3 Assam* 2137.56 27 46.68 2090.88 4 Bihar 7771.42 38 5766.85 2004.57 5 Chhattisgarh 3345.57 13 1935.62 1409.95 6 Gujarat 12309.75 32 8216.66 4093.09 748 P a g e
7 Goa 398.55 2 51.30 347.25 8 Haryana 4095.63 21 2489.00 1606.63 9 Himachal Pradesh 4330.45 12 1938.24 2392.21 10 Jammu & Kashmir** 988.56 12 795.69 192.87 11 Jharkhand 2507.55 20 1172.28 1335.27 12 Karnataka 2451.20 6 22.56 2428.64 13 Kerala 1558.24 11 1558.24 0.00 14 Madhya Pradesh 10158.50 27 8576.96 1581.54 15 Maharashtra 6536.16 34 1673.67 4862.48 16 Manipur 168.53 4 0.00 168.53 17 Meghalaya 623.75 5 78.07 545.68 18 Mizoram 1637.63 3 1518.08 119.55 19 Nagaland 1427.62 9 1277.62 150.00 20 Odisha 9628.04 30 6750.56 2877.48 21 Punjab 2796.26 5 1050.09 1746.17 22 Rajasthan 8274.55 11 928.12 7346.43 23 Sikkim 942.19 4 197.15 745.04 24 Tamil Nadu 3161.73 32 1427.94 1733.79 25 Telangana 8385.21 10 1111.00 7274.21 26 Tripura 2234.36 7 1223.74 1010.62 27 Uttar Pradesh 1852.49 26 538.35 1314.14 28 Uttarakhand 762.17 13 0.00 762.17 29 West Bengal 7530.57 19 4679.10 2851.47 30 A & N Islands 72.25 1 53.49 18.76 31 Chandigarh 50.00 0 0.00 50.00 32 D & N Haveli*** 65.78 1 24.29 41.49 33 Delhi 132.07 1 0.00 132.07 34 Daman & Diu 103.72 2 68.60 35.12 35 Lakshadweep 166.41 1 166.41 0.00 36 Pondicherry 344.57 2 94.23 250.34 37 Misc. 1314.02 285.58 1028.44 Total All States/UTs 116975.90 457 57920.35 59055.55 * committed - The amount will be paid after acquisition of work. Provisionally utilize Rs.32 lakh **J&K Rs.235.20 lakh the demand draft got cancelled. ***Rs.33.68 lakh got revalidated. Source http://dolr.nic.in 749 P a g e
REFERENCES [1]. http://dolr.nic.in/ [2]. http://www.orfonline.org/research/securing-property-rights-in-india-through-distributed-ledger-technology [3]. DIGITIZATION OF LAND RECORDS NEED FOR LAW REFORM Ravinder kumar Research scholar, Department of Law, H.P.U. Summer Hills, Shimla [4]. Computerization of Land Records: National Perspective; SD Meena et al. Land Reforms in India, Sage Publication 2005 [5]. Modi and his challenges by Rajiv Kumar [6]. Constraints in Land Record Computerisation Hari Charan Behera 750 P a g e