Digitization Of Land Records

Posted 17 Dec 2024

5 min read

Why in the News?

Union Minister of Rural Development recently notified that nearly 95% of the land records have been digitized in Rural India since 2016.

About Digital India Land Records Modernization Programme (DILRMP)

Launched: In 2016 by revamping the National Land Records Modernization Programme.
Ministry: Central Sector Scheme under the Department of Land Resources, Ministry of Rural Development.
- It has been extended from 2021-22 to 2025-26 with the addition of two new components viz.
  - Computerization of all Revenue Courts in the country & their integration with land records.
  - Consent-based linking of Aadhaar number with Records of Rights (RoR).
Aim: To replace the manual presumptive land-title system with a digital conclusive land titling system.

Need for Digitization of Land Records

Socio-economic relevance: Access to land and its documented ownership is vital for livelihood of the majority of the vulnerable sections – poor, marginal farmers, tribes, etc.
Land ownership disputes: Lack of a conclusive titling, illegal land acquisition through forgery and Benami property, have led to increased land ownership disputes.
- More than 60% of the litigation in India is land-related.
- In conclusive land titling system, land records designate actual ownership. The title is granted by the government.
Inefficient administrative processes: The system of updating and correcting land records is very complex, elaborate and tedious, which can lead to corruption, land grabbing, etc.
Outdated mapping: Lack of updated records has resulted in records not being representative of the present ground realities relating to possession and ownership.
Targeted public service delivery: Exclusion errors in rural development schemes linked with land ownership due to lack of effective land titling hinder the social justice objectives.
- E.g., Through the PM-Kisan scheme, the government provides income support to all landholding farmers' families
Strengthening revenue administration: Property tax and land-based financing form a major source of revenue for local governments.
Infrastructure development: Land disputes and unclear titling lead to cost delays and inefficiencies in infrastructure development and encourages black market of land transactions.

Challenges in the digitalisation of land

Presumptive land titling: The transfer of land based on Transfer of Property Act, 1882 requires registration of sales deeds and not of land titles.
- Thus, bona fide property transactions may not always guarantee ownership, as earlier transactions could be challenged.
Centre-State coordination: Land being a state subject, digitisation of land records depends on the willingness of state governments and centre-state cooperation.
- Lack of coordination and standardisation among states in terms of land laws, policies and systems, also hinder digitalisation.
In silos approach of Departments: Land ownership is established through multiple documents maintained by different departments, making it cumbersome to access them.
- E.g. Sale deeds are stored in the registration department, maps are stored in the survey department, and property tax receipts are with the revenue department.
Legal provisions related to registration: Non-mandatory registration for transactions such as acquisition of land by the government, property leased for less than 1 year, and heirship partitions under the Registration Act, 1908, leading to increased litigation.
High Cost of registration: High stamp duty and registration fees discourages formal registration of property transactions, leading to discrepancies in reflection of ground realities of land records.
Others: Legacy data issues, stakeholders’ resistance to change, infrastructure gaps in certain regions, procedural complexities, technological constraints, etc.

Way Forward

Conclusive land titling: Moving towards a system of conclusive land titling and state-guarantee of ownership will aid in improving the transparency and accuracy of land records.
- Model Act on Conclusive Land Titling (2020) by NITI Aayog can aid in formulating state laws in this regard.
Legal reforms: Changes in the laws related to registration of property such as registration of property titles, timely updating of existing records, etc.
Technological integration: Improving efficiency of GIS technology for geo-referencing of cadastral maps, National Generic Document Registration System (NGDRS), etc.
Training and awareness generation: Training of personnel and improving digital literacy and awareness of people for effective implementation of the scheme.

Land Reforms in India

Land reforms were emphasised in various Five-year Plans as well as by the J. C. Kumarappa Committee (1949).

Land Reforms encompass mainly 5 components:

Abolition of intermediary tenures (Zamindari): The Zamindari Abolition Acts were enacted in various states during 1950s-1970s, which put an end to the big landlord-tenant relationships.
- Under these reforms, the land was redistributed based on the idea of ‘land to the tiller.’
Tenancy reforms: Tenancy reform laws were enacted to bar illegal forceful eviction of tenants by landlords and ensure fair rent rates. However, due to presence of many legal loopholes, exploitation of tenants continued.
- E.g. the "permanent tenancy" system, whereby a tenant could stay on the land for a long period but could not lay a claim on it.
Ceiling of land holdings and distribution of surplus land: The Land Ceiling Acts enacted during the 1970s aimed at capping the landholding of an individual or family and redistributing the surplus land to the landless, promoting more efficient agricultural practices.
- However, it saw limited success due to legal loopholes, resistance from landed elite, corruption, and lack of political will.
Consolidation of holdings: It aimed at combining fragmented land into larger, more contiguous holdings to enable mechanization and more efficient farming practices.
- However, resistance from small farmers unwilling to give up their lands led to limited success of the initiative.
Compilation and updating of land records.