IT and Land Records Management

Maintenance of land records has been in existence in India right from 1500 AD during the reign of Sher Shah Suri. The system was further improved during Akbars reign. During the British Raj, land administration system was introduced to improve land revenue collection. Postindependence, the first breakthrough came during 1988-89 with the government deciding to computerize all land resource data, to make the processes transparent and prevent further manipulation.

During the 8th plan, the total expenditure on the computerization scheme was `59.42 crore which was utilized for covering 299 new districts, so by the end of the 8th plan, 323 districts in the country were brought under the scheme with an expenditure of `64.44 crore.

Land Records ManagementA State-wise Update

Way back in 1987, the department of rural development selected 8 districts including Morena, Rangareddy (Andhra Pradesh), Mayurbhanj (Orissa), Sonitpur (Assam), Singbhum (Bihar), Wardha (Maharashtra), Dungarpur (Rajasthan), and Gandhinagar (Gujarat). Karnataka is one such state that has led by example, being a pioneer in the computerization/digitization of land records and its management. Its project Bhoomi is still regarded as one of the most successful case studies for land records management with the project being replicated in other states as well.

Challenges in Land Records Management

While computerization of land records does ensure transparency, a few challenges still remain. Problems like powercuts, technical snags, and lack of proper infrastructure are a few such issues. Therefore, state governments need to ensure a backup facility or use non-conventional energy sources to tackle the crisis. Secondly, only a few states have made RoR available in the Internet with limited information, and hence local youths need to be encouraged to set up land record kiosks in villages to provide copies of RoR. Finally, the collection of field data is still traditional and can be improved if provisions are made for remote updation through mobile technology.

Conclusion

While there have been several bottlenecks in the implementation of the CLR scheme by the state governments, there are ways and means for making the scheme more effective by gearing up the monitoring mechanism for periodic review of the implementation of the scheme.

The infrastructure and the delivery mechanism through kiosk also needs to be improved with adequate power backup, additional hardware, and 24/7 support group. The computerization of land records is still evolving through advanced technology. Automation and integration with cadastral mapping and registration process are also expected to improve the revenue administration system.

PC Suraj
surajp@cybermedia.co.in