24 Sep :Union Rural Development Minister Dr. Raghuvansh Prasad Singh has called for devising appropriate guidelines that help and facilitate the National Land Records Modenization Programme in the Country. Inaugurating a two day technical workshop on the National Land Records Modenization Programme (NLRMP) here today the minister said the ultimate goal of the NLRMP is to replace the present system of registration of deeds and documents as provided for in the Registration Act. In the present system, the titles to property are merely presumptive and the State does not give guarantee for such titles. Once some substantial progress is made in implementing the programme, the country can switch to the system of “Conclusive Titles” as followed in most advanced and some of the developing countries.
The Minister said that benefits of NLRMP to citizens of are :the records will be always up-to-date, tamperproof and easily accessible since they will be placed on website with proper security IDs;the time taken for obtaining copies of land records will be drastically reduced; automatic and automated mutilations will reduce the scope of fraudulent property deals and also litigation;
market value information would be available on the website and E-linkage to credit facility will become available.
Giving a historical background Dr. Singh said the country has a rich history of land bandobast extending from the times of Shershah, to Todar Mal to Circar of British India. There was, however, need of updating of land records on a continuous basis. He said under the Activities proposed under NLRMP Computerization of land records including digitization of maps and integration of textual and spatial data; Survey/resurvey;Computerization of registration including entry of valuation details;Setting up modern record rooms;Training and capacity building;Inter-connectivity using IT among revenue offices and among various agencies involved in land records such as Revenue Offices, Survey and Settlement Offices, Registration Offices, Panchayats, etc. Core GIS activities such as Village index base maps from satellite imagery for creating the core GIS;Integration of three layers of data: (i) Spatial data from aerial photograph or high-resolution satellite imagery; (ii) Survey of India and Forest Survey of India maps; and (iii) Cadastral maps from revenue records are planned. He said the total cost of the programme is Rs.5656.00 crore of which Central Share will be Rs.3098.00 crores and the State share will be Rs.2558.00 crores. The budget provision for 2008-09 is Rs.473.00 crores. It is envisaged that the entire programme will be completed by the end of the 12th Plan.
Dr. Singh said the programme has zeroed in on modern technologies that can be used for speedier survey/resurvey of the land. Three technologies have been identified in consultation with the technical agencies: Pure ground method using electronic total station (ETS) and global positioning system (GPS), Hybrid method using aerial photography and ground truthing by ETS and GPS; and High-resolution satellite imagery. It is also proposed to set up a Core Technical Advisory Group with representatives of all the technical agencies to advise and assist the Department in achieving the goals of the programme.
Similarly, regional Technical Advisory Groups will be set up to assist the States in implementing the programme. The district has been selected as the unit for programme implementation. All the activities envisaged under the programme would be undertaken district-by-district. The minister said that the data and the conclusive titles would be linked to the development process, such as credit institutions, disaster management, land acquisition and rehabilitation & resettlement, land use planning, cropping pattern and food security, and other secondary data such as issue of various certificates, etc. Besides the citizen and the govt., the conclusive titles and secondary data will be of immense use to the private stakeholders.
The Minister said the National Common Minimum Programme (NCMP) envisages that “Revenue administration will be thoroughly modernized and clear land titles will be established”. Also, a consciousness has come amongst the States for moving to the title guarantee system, but the essential technological infrastructure, capacity building, and legal framework changes are yet to be in place.
The Minister of State for Rural Development Shri Chandra Sekhar Sahu said the National Land Records Modernization Programme (NLRMP) has been conceptualized as a major system and reform initiative that is concerned not merely with computerization, updating and maintenance of land records and validation of titles, but also as a programme that will add value and provide a comprehensive database for planning developmental, regulatory and disaster management activities by providing location-specific information, while providing citizen services based on land records data.
The two days technical workshop is expected to devise issues like Digitization of Integration of textual & spatial data, GIS, Data Codes & architecture, Data security, Authentication mechanisms, Indian language computing, Interconnectivity among Revenue & Registration Offices, Banks & Treasuries; Unified command/single window service delivery Legal changes, Programme Management, Process reengineering, MoUs, Release of funds, Deliverables & milestones, M&E, Training/capacity building, International experiences , Outsourcing and PPP.