The real constraint lies in discrepancies and the huge pendency of disputes about authenticity and completeness of ownership documents
Providing error-free, tamper-proof and effortlessly accessible land records has been a major and prolonged governance challenge in the country. Land is a State subject and the project for computerisation of land records has been dragging on for decades due to a systemic lack of capacity, will and resources. Under the Digital India Land Record Modernisation Programme, the Rural Development Ministry provides financial assistance to States for computerisation of records, survey, re-survey and computerisation of registration of plots. This involves preparation of cadastral maps, record of land rights, tracing changes in the rights and right-holders over time, deeds for registration of property transfers and other plot records.
By July 31 this year, the computerisation of land records was more than 90 per cent complete in 23 States and Union Territories (UTs). Digitisation of cadastral maps was more than 90 per cent done in 19 States and UTs, computerisation of registration was more than 90 per cent finished in 22 States and UTs while integration of the registration office with the revenue office was more than 90 per cent accomplished in 16 States and UTs. This is a historic effort towards rural transformation.
In a major initiative to use drones and satellites to digitally map the entire rural landscape, the Ministry launched a new Central scheme, Survey of Villages and Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas (SVAMITVA), on the National Panchayati Raj Day on April 24.
The Geological Survey of India has been asked to create a network of Continuously Operating Reference System (CORS) stations to utilise modern surveying technology. This will be based on global satellite positioning systems and drones for accuracy and real-time data acquisition. SVAMITVA will be gradually implemented to cover all villages (over 6.65 lakh) by March 2024 and one lakh villages have been targetted by March 2021. SVAMITVA is a national scale-up of Haryana’s trail-blazing project of mapping villages to create a record of rights for “abadi” (inhabited) areas using a drone survey.
On October 11, an initial batch of one lakh beneficiaries from 763 villages from six States received an SMS link sent on their mobile phone to download their property cards, followed by the physical distribution of these cards by respective State Governments. Each card will have a unique identity number similar to the Aadhaar card. Acceptable proof of property ownership rights plays a big role in a country’s development and these property cards would make accessing bank loans easier. This will further loosen the grip of the informal credit system.
SVAMITVA will help start-ups provide drone technology as they will get more business. Real Time Kinematic (RTK) and Post-Processing Kinematic (PPK) drone technologies are to be used for the mapping. The RTK technology uses the real-time satellite navigation technique to enhance the precision of position data derived from satellite-based positioning systems. The PTK technique is used to correct location data after drone data has been captured and uploaded. A number of agri-based start-ups are coming up and the field is ripe for innovation and employment. Drone-based surveillance has already been successfully used for monitoring crowd movement and better traffic management. It is imperative that the SVAMITVA scheme is not confined to rural areas and is accelerated to include urban areas, too, as fast as the States cooperate. After all, drones and satellites can only help create authentic records of locations. Who owns what rights on a particular piece of land cannot be decided by the technology service provider. So the rather broken mechanism for resolving title disputes needs to be fixed in parallel. That explains why covering all villages is targetted by March 2024.
It would be a big advancement in the governance system if the whole country is digitally mapped and each square metre is assigned a unique identification code. Spinoffs of a unique addressing system are limited only by the imagination. The enormous benefits of the unique addressing system for governance and business will include valuable inputs for distribution of population, homesteads, farmed areas, wetlands, forests and so on and better planning and implementation of projects.
Such a system will be useful in monitoring unauthorised constructions and encroachments as well. Petty corruption and local vested interests that patronise such activities can be checked through randomised selection of inspections by higher authorities.
The real constraint lies in discrepancies and the huge pendency of disputes about authenticity and completeness of land records. It is a big burden on the administrative system and courts. There is no ready central repository of statistics on cases pending with Tehsildars, Sub-Divisional Magistrates, District Magistrates, Divisional Commissioners, Revenue Ministers and Revenue Boards. Over 98 lakh civil cases were pending in courts on November 12. Of these, 60 per cent were more than one year old, 34 per cent were over three years old and 20 per cent cases were over five years old. How many of them are land related is not known.
The fact that land record digitisation is over 90 per cent complete in 23 States and UTs is heartening but also indicates the enormous challenge that lies ahead. There are just too many departments and agencies involved in management of lands and superstructures thereon. There is an urban-rural divide handled by different Ministries and Departments even as more and more rural areas get commercialised and urbanised. Some areas develop a vested interest in remaining officially “rural” even though these are not just adjacent but deep inside big cities. Lal Dora lands in Delhi and “villages” in Delhi-NCR make an interesting study of what is rural and urban in terms of differential regulations and its costs to broader public interest.
Historically, Revenue Departments in States are primary custodians of land management, especially agricultural plots. Forest and urban land management is with the Forest Department, Urban Development Department, municipal bodies and area development authorities. In some States, separate Panchayati Raj departments maintain records of village lands and properties. Then there are special authorities for management of charitable endowments and Waqf properties. Some States have separated survey and settlement functions and given them to specialised agencies.
The Centre has a rather limited role in these transformative reforms as land is a State subject. It provides some financial assistance and shares best practices across the country. Some additional measures are needed to speed up progress. For historical reasons, the land laws rooted in a colonial legacy differ widely across States. Post-Independence laws for implementing abolition of the zamindari system, “land to the tiller”, rights of share-croppers, land ceiling, consolidation, reforming revenue system have been differently implemented. It would perhaps be premature to think about evolving a model land tenancy law or proposing a common template of land management system by the Centre but certainly a system of special incentives for accelerating modernisation of the record system should be considered.
Annual State rankings may also be considered. States are competing in annual ranking in terms of the Ease of Doing Business (EOBD) in the spirit of cooperative federalism. Ease of registering property, ease of verifying title and ease of recording and verifying charges on immovable property are contributory factors for promoting EOBD for corporations and Ease of Living for ordinary citizens.
The need to speed up modernisation of the land records system can hardly be overemphasised. Together with schemes like PM-KISAN and the new agri-reform laws, incentivising digital payments and online trade of farm produce will strengthen the process of gradual formalisation and digitalisation of economic activities and boost officially-recorded economic growth.
(The writer is former Special Secretary, Ministry of Commerce and Industry)
