Urban Governance: Emerging Challenges

Urban Land Management: Role of e-Governance in Public

Land Management

Shashikant Kumar
Professor, School of Planning
Bhaikaka Centre for Human Settlement, APIED VV Nagar

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 Contents
• Land Management in India
• Nature of Revenue Records
• Land in Urban Areas
• Conflicts and Challenge for Development
• NLRMP and NUIS
• Final Questions/Challenges

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 Land…
• Land is the most valuable, imperishable possession from which
people derive their economic independence, social status and a
modest and permanent means of livelihood.
• 60 per cent of the country’s population has right over only 5 per
cent of country’s land; whereas 10 per cent of the population has
control over 55 per cent of the land [NSSO-2003-04]
• National Land Reform Policy talks about preparation of land use
plan aggregated at the highest level, thus management of land for
the distribution to landless/poor, restoration of aliniated land,
ensuring homestead, tenancy rights of SC/ST, land rights for women
and common property right.
• Does this call for effective land management? Yes
• This presentation is for starting a discussion on the challenges
posed by us for effective urban land management…

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 Land Management…
The ‘e’ part of Governance
• State Subject…
• Updating and Survey [resurvey under NLRMP]
• Land Record Transition [Manual-Computer-
Digital-Virtual]
• Regular up dation of land record [poor mutation
and subdivision maps]
• Land Management: Grass root to State
• Rural to Urban [little sharing or segregation]
• Government to Citizen – ‘e’ is ready for all.

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The Bombay Land Revenue Code 1879
• All lands belong to Government.
• A person is a “occupant” of land if he is in
legal possession of it. (“holder in actual
possession of land…..”)
• Occupant can transfer the land or bequeath it.
• However under certain conditions, Govt. can
prevent the transfer of land. (Section 69 of the
BLR code 1879)

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The Bombay Land Revenue Code 1879
• Restrictions on transfer. For eg. Under Section
73 AA A tribal is not permitted to transfer his
land except with the prior permission of the
collector.
• Under Section 69, all mines and Minerals are
the property of Govt.

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The Bombay Land Revenue Code 1879
• Section 37(1) of BLR Code 1879: All public
roads,lanes, paths,…lands, rivers, lakes,…..bed
of the sea…which are not the property of
individuals….Are….the property of Govt.
• Section 37(2) of BLR Code 1879: Resolution of
disputes
• Sections 38, 39 & 39A: Protection of common
property, eg Gaucher lands

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Nature of Revenue Records

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 Cadastral Survey
• Derived from Latin “Cadastre” meaning
registry of land.
• Definition: Survey to determine and define
land ownership and boundaries”

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 Importance of Revenue Records

• Defines and determines ownership of land,

tenancies, heir ships, titles.
• Defines crops grown
• Defines Public spaces: roads, grazing grounds,
nallahs, forests
• Essential for land use planning

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 The Village Records
The Village: Fundamental unit of administration.
• Talati: The custodian of village land records
• The fundamental building block of British
Empire.
• “The Manual of Revenue Accounts of the
Village, Taluka and Districts of Gujarat State” by
F.G.Hartnell Anderson M.A. ICS (1st Jan 1929)

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 Evolution of Village Forms
• 1825 onwards
• 1895: 42 Forms reduced to 34 Village
Forms.
• Further Reduced to 18 Village Forms

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 18 Village Forms
• VF 1: Aakar bandh. List of all lands in the village. Survey
numberwise, Area, occupancy roads, easement rights.
• VF 2: N.A and Special Uses Register. Maintained in 3 parts. 1.
Lands outside S.nos. 2. Land in temporary NA use. 3. Lands
granted revenue free for special use.
• VF 3: Register of Inami Land. Land given by Govt for various
purposes. Total of seven (now six) uses. Eg. Devastan Lands.
• VF 4: Miscellaneous Revenue. Levies for use of land for less
than five years.
• VF 5: General Abstract of Area and Revenue. (Tharavbund)
Total ‘demand’ of Land Revenue of village

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 18 Village Forms (Contd)
• VF 6: Record of Rights. Heirship, Partition,
Sale, Other rights. Any Changes: Notice
under Section 135D is necessary. Has to be
updated constantly.Duty of every citizen to
reprt acquisition of rights.
• VF 7/12: Combination of VF 7 and 12.

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 Village Form VII-XII
• VF XII:
• VF VII: 1. Year
1. Popular name of field 2. Name of cultivator
2. Survey number 3. Season
3. Area 4. Type of crop and Area
4. Type of occupancy 5. Source of Irrigation
5. Name of occupant 6. Details of trees
6. Other Rights
7. Area cultivable/fallow
8. Pot Kharaba
9. Levy

Combination of VF VII ( Diary of Mutations) and VF

XII ( Record of Crops and Tenancies) 15
 18 Village Forms (Contd)
• VF 8A: The Khatawahi. Holding Register,
Khatawise.
1. Occupants name
2. Khata Number
3. Details of all survey nos. held.
4. Areas
5. Land Revenue
All interlinked with VF 6 and XII-XII

• VF 8B:Total ‘demand’ of Land revenue,

Khataderwise.(Entirely based on VF 8A)

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 18 Village Forms (Contd)
• VF 9: Receipt book of Collection of Govt.
levies. To be given to each Khatedar in lieu of
money collected.

• VF 10: Register of Remittances to Taluka of

Govt. levies.To be maintained in three copies.
1. Taluka Treasury 2. Taluka Office 3.To be
retained in the village.

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 18 Village Forms (Contd)
• VF 11: Arrears of Land revenue and Trial
Balance Sheet of village.
• VF 13: Tulwari. Total of all cropped land and
fallow land and crops and areas. (Now
generated by computer from appropriate
columns of VF 12)
• VF 14: Register of Births and Deaths: Birth
days important for all Govt. purposes. Also
critical for heirship rights.

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 18 Village Forms (Contd)
• VF 15:Cattle Register
• VF 16: Sources of Water Supply
• VF 17: Inward Outward Correspondence
• VF 18: List of Books, Manuals, Standing
Orders

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ISSUES IN REVENUE RECORDS

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Poor Mutation and Subdivision record

How Land use plans can be prepared without correcting

the maps and associated records?

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A Case of Expressway records…(Anand District)

Why Record cannot be updated even after 10 years of land being acquired and
settled …?

Tabular records are updated…facility updation takes years to be reflected on the

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cadastral survey sheets…
 Importance of Land Records…
• Rural and Urban areas requires efficient land record
management.
• To determine potential land use..
• For Integrating local..district..state .. National
plans..[land use and development]
• Limit Land acquisition and minimize displacement

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 Land in Urban Areas
• Gujarat urbanisation – 42 percent (2011)
• Land Area Occupied (80% to 1% of district)
• Urban Land –Requires micro management
• Land Use Plan – Stands on poor land records
• No urban areas are surveyed mannually since
its inception in totality

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Conflicts and Challenges

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E-Governance and Land Management
• Conversion to Non-Agricultural Purpose.
• Since 2004 computerized land records are accepted. [where is
aggregation?]
• Successful implementation of Computerisation of RoR (Record of Rights)
program in State.
• E-dhara (Computerisation of Land record) project in Gujarat received
numerous awards for its 100 percent coverage.
• Government to Citizen successful [without updating of land records at the
village and taluka level]
• Whether Government to Government land data management is feasible
now?
• How urban land and property record management would be different than
the rural and agricultural land?
• The Record of Rights and the spatial data of urban properties goes a long
way in bringing a litigation free environment in the urban areas.

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 Reform Approach…
• Ministry of Rural Development recently published Draft
National Land Reform Policy, July 2013 for discussion does
not talk about land in urban areas or rural land affected by
urbanisation.
• Draft Land Titiling Bill (2011)
– Titling: (i) A Record of Title over each of the immoveable properties in
the notified area shall be prepared in the manner further provided in
this Act. (ii) The Title Registration Officer will function under the
supervision of the Authority (at the state/district/block level).
• Draft Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill (2011)
– Provision of Real Estate Regulatory Authority (Promoter/Allottee)
– Does not mention the land regulation or management

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 Need for Land Management
• The spatial data so provided can be best utilized at the time of
Elections, Census, by the department of Posts and Telegraphs,
by the Railways, by Water supply and Sewage Boards and host
of many other Developing Agencies and departments.
• For orderly growth of the city, a base map of a city is a must.
• By detecting encroachment of Government properties,
significant values of land are saved in favour of Government.
• It helps Municipal Administration in their endeavor of
collecting local taxes.

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Need for…
• Unauthorized construction on agricultural lands
can be detected and huge sums can be realized
by the Government by way of conversion fines.
• Legal advantage of the spatial and non-spatial
data collected by the system of the City Survey
cannot be underestimated as the maps and
information contained have evidential value in
the Courts of Law and the documents have
presumptive value.
• It helps in defining and distinguishing good titles
and eliminating the bad ones.

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 National Land Record Modernisation Program
(NLRMP)
• Survey in the Urban Areas using TS-GPS method (Total
Station & Global positioning System)
• Updation of city survey and Urban Land records.
• Present Status: Neglects the Urban Land and its
characters,
• More clarity on the cadastral parcel mapping.
• Urban Land with built-up needs to have different
methodology.
• Not specified in the NLRMP (Guidelines and Technical
Manual 2008-09) for City Survey Sheets

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 Loss of ‘e’ in Governance
What is needed?
• At a minimum, cadastral, subdivision, and parcel maps
should be compiled, along with a system for recording real
property transactions and updating ownership records.
• If property tax systems are to be used, additional mapped
and transaction-based records are needed on property
values, tax assessments, payments, and receipts.
• In absence, large scale unregulated development has taken
place in Gujarat (over 15 lakh) which can be regularized by
paying fee Rs. 2000 to 12000 (upto 300 sq. mtr)..what has
failed is land management for public purpose?
• There is loss of public land under the unregulated
properties (Road Margin, Common Plot, Side Margin,
Parking, water bodies etc.)

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 National Urban Information System
• Creation of GIS Data base 1:10000 to 1:1000
scale.
• GIS Framework as per NUIS standards
• Methodology established in 2004-06 and projects
are under progress in majority of states in India.
• About 153 towns in country are to be covered
under the scheme for National Urban
Observatory.
• Land Use data is one of the important component
of the NUIS in addition to infrastructure and
other 5 thematic areas.
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 CADASTRAL ??

NUIS Methodology 33
Where is revenue data and maps in this scheme? 34
The base layer for Land Use is
Cadastral or Revenue plot which
cannot be made available at this
scale…

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Challenge for Urban Land Management

A New Approach…Under Discussion

2011 Onwards
Land ! Minus e-governance
Just Record Management

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 Project Platinum (Draft Policy)
• The Ministry of Urban Development therefore initiated “Project
PLATINUM” (Partnership for Land Title Implementation for Urban
Management).
• A Land Titling Authority (LTA) to be constituted, which would
undertake surveys of all lands and issue land titles after undertaking
the required enquiries and maintain registers of titles issued.
• The survey of land parcels is an essential prerequisite to the
recognition and registration of title.

• [National Guideline for Implementation of Guaranteed Title for

Land and Property: Report of Working Group, India Urban Space
Foundation, PDF Document, www.indiausp.org]

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 Where…?
• While the Framework Law would apply to all
lands and properties, it recognizes that the
challenges of implementation would vary in
urban and rural areas and enables urban land
titling to be implemented on a fast track basis.
• For this purpose, flexibility is provided for
notifying areas, either wholly urban, or part
urban-part rural, to which the system of
Guaranteed Land Title would apply.

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 How?
• Under the Framework Law, a separate Division
for Survey, Settlement and Land Information
System (SSLIS) is to be created within the
Authority to undertake the task of mapping
and surveying.
• The direct responsibility of the survey
department constituted under the Authority
shall extend only to the determination of the
boundaries and extents of land parcels.

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 Ultimate Aim
• LAND TITLING SYSTEM FOR SUSTAINABLE
URBAN GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT…
• Clear title and records of land ownership and
boundaries in the growing periphery of cities will
dramatically improve the ability for planned
urban growth and land transaction efficiency
between the buyer and seller.
• A reliable and current system of land title will
enable a robust mechanism by which the
collection of property tax, or betterment fees, or
cesses can be administered.

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 Final Questions / Challenges…
• NLRMP – Should they be gathering or updating
City Survey Records
• NUIS- Should largest urban information system
program acknowledge Cadastral mapping
• PLATINUM- Should Land Titling would be enough
to integrate the rural –urban land transition…
• How do we than plan for urban areas without
effective land information system?

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THANK YOU

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