Need for digitization of land records

  • High litigation:
    • A World Bank study from 2007 states that some estimates suggest that land-related disputes account for two-thirds of all pending court cases in the country. These land disputes include those related to the validity of land titles and records, and rightful ownership.
    • A NITI Aayog paper suggests that land disputes on average take about 20 years to be resolved. Land disputes add to the burden of the courts, tie up land in litigation, and further impact sectors and projects that are dependent on these disputed land titles.
  • Agricultural credit:
    • Land is often used as collateral for obtaining loans by farmers. It has been observed that disputed or unclear land titles inhibit supply of capital and credit for agriculture.
    • Small and marginal farmers, who account for more than half of the total land holdings, and may not hold formal land titles, are unable to access institutionalised credit.
  • Development of new infrastructure:
    • Land that was earlier used for farming, is now being used to set up industries, power plants, manufacturing units, build roads, housing, and shopping malls.
    • However, several of the new infrastructure projects are witnessing delays, with land related issues often being a key factor.
    • These delays occur because of non-availability of encumbrance free land (evidence that the property in question is free from any monetary and legal liability), non-updation of land records, resistance to joint measurement survey of land records, demands for higher compensation by land owners, and filing of large number of arbitration cases by land owners.
    • For example, obtaining a land ownership certificate can take around 60 days in Gujarat and up to 12 months in Chennai and Odisha.
  • Urbanisation and the housing shortage:
    • More recently, land use is also changing due to urbanisation and further expansion of such urban areas.
    • While census towns are places with urban characteristics (population above 5,000, at least 75% of the population engaged in non-agricultural work, and a population density of at least 400 people per sq. km.), statutory towns are urban areas with a local authority.
    • Under new schemes for urban development (Smart Cities Mission, AMRUT), cities are trying to raise their own revenue through property taxes and land based financing. This further necessitates the importance of providing a system of clear land titles in urban areas.
  • Benami transactions:
    • A Benami transaction is one where a property is held by or transferred to a person, but has been provided for or paid by another person.
    • The White Paper on Black Money (2012) had noted that black money generated in the country gets invested in Benami properties.
    • Unclear titles and non-updated land records enable carrying out property transactions in a non-transparent way.
    • The Standing Committee on Finance (2015) examining the Benami Transactions Prohibition (Amendment) Bill, 2015 noted that generation of black money through Benami transactions could be pre-empted and eliminated by digitisation of land records and their regular updation.
  • Unused land:
    • A large proportion of government land lies unused. A large part of the unused land is high-value property in prime areas in major cities
    • Land hoarding by government agencies has created artificial scarcityand is one of the main drivers of skyrocketing urban real estate prices.