Challenges of Land Ownership: Transparency

Owning land in India often comes with a series of challenges. However, one can take heart from the fact that land registry and ownership have continuously improved through the centuries. From the era when only monarchs decided who could own land, India passed through the oppressive Zamindari system. Land reforms started in India in the early 50s once the feudal system was swiftly abolished in 1951. More than 30 lakh sharecroppers received land documentation for over 62 lakh acres of land across India within five years.

Post-independence, India not only saw land ownership reforms but also laid the foundation of organised land ownership in 1948 , as the sloping terrain south of the Shivalik range was shaped into what we know as Chandigarh. As planned urbanisation kickstarted, the organic urbanisation of Indian cities and towns also picked up pace. Naturally, land laws and statutes had to be amended or implemented across various Indian states. However, the rules, regulations, paperwork, and formalities emerging from these acts and laws have somewhat complicated the land ownership process in India.

Title Tussles

Establishing the title of land in India is one of the primary challenges for a land buyer. A host of property transfer documents can be used to establish it. However, by establishing the property ownership with transfer records, the title becomes presumptive and therefore, the land documentation remains susceptible to challenge.

Unlike the Torrens system of land titling, for instance. Originating in Australia in 1858 , under this system, the government maintains a land title register, which guarantees land ownership. This system shifts the burden of proof from the buyer to the government. Verifying land records becomes quite simple, unlike the cumbersome processes followed in India.

Verifying Land Records Land documentation used to establish land ownership includes:

• Registered sale deed
• Record of rights
• Property tax receipts
• Survey documents
• Encumbrance certificates, etc.

None of these documents are guaranteed titles of the land, making the land ownership presumptive.

Given the wide array of documents, the verification process can be quite cumbersome. It involves visits to government offices like revenue, registrar office, panchayat office, etc., that often work in silos. You must then access the property records to identify past disputes and verify the aforementioned documents.

While all of this relates to land documentation, land buyers have also faced difficulties due to poorly maintained land records, lack of uniformity and communication among departments, and differences in recorded and actual land records. High hopes are placed on digitisation to mend these processes and bring in more transparency in land ownership.

Why is Change Needed?

Buy land, they are not making it anymore, Mark Twain famously said. Taking the writer’s advice is difficult if buying and selling land remains tedious. The prolonged process involved in land sales has affected its liquidity as an asset. Consider these facts

• Land title issues have made up two-thirds of all pending court cases in India .
• In central infrastructural projects, 26% of the delay is down to land acquisition issues .
• The same goes for real estate projects, with an estimated 70% of developers facing land problems .

Digitisation: The Game Changer

Change is needed to address these challenges, which is coming in the form of digitisation. It is evident from developments such as -

• The Digital India Land Records Modernization Programme (DILRMP) has computerised more than 95% of land records in rural India.
• 68% of cadastral maps have been digitised across 28 Indian states and UTs, while registration is computerised in 93% of state register offices .
• The computerisation of land records has led to the integration of textual and spatial records.
• The computerisation of land registry has helped in the integration of registration and land records.
• Modern land record management centres are being set up at tehsil level.
• All revenue courts are getting computerised and integrated with land records.

Summing Up

In 2020, the Niti Aayog drafted the Model Land Title Act , which aims to reform land titles. If and when implemented, it will mark India’s ambitious push towards the Torrens system. But for now, establishing land titles remains the responsibility of the land buyer.

With continued reforms and integrated digitisation, India has the potential to simplify and secure land ownership like never before.