The Andhra Pradesh Land Titling Act (APLTA) will be implemented only after completing the land survey and obtaining a clearance from the court of law, Minister for Revenue, Registrations and Stamps Dharmana Prasada Rao has said.
During the ongoing Budget Session in the Assembly on February 6 (Tuesday), Mr. Prasada Rao told The Hindu that there were some apprehensions among certain sections of people, particularly the advocates fraternity, about the Act. Some people opposed the Act in the Andhra Pradesh High Court as well. “The State government will implement the Act only after getting the guidelines from the court of law. The government will also examine the suggestions given by advocates and other legal experts,” he said.
Stating that there are no proper legislations to regulate land titles in our country, Mr. Prasada Rao said that Andhra Pradesh was the first State to bring in these reforms and that apart from Andhra Pradesh, eight more States were enacting similar laws.
The Minister hoped that this Act would offer solutions for many persisting and long-standing problems related to land. “The number of land related cases in the courts will come down once the Act is implemented. It will also help reduce crimes and maintain law and order. It will be easy to protect the rights of civilians,” he said.
The Minister further asserted that the State government had taken all safeguards to protect the rights of the property owners. Stating that the ongoing land survey has been completed in more than 4,000 villages, he observed that it would take another one and a half year to complete the survey of remaining 13,000 villages and urban areas. After the survey is completed, the government would establish land parcels across the State, he said.
The Minister said that the State government had brought in this Act based on a model Act given by the NITI Aayog. He said that the NITI Aayog, before suggesting it to States, has conducted extensive surveys and constituted a special committee. The issue was in the discussion for more than two decades in the country and Andhra Pradesh is the first State to bring in the law, he added.
Mr. Prasada Rao said that 175 countries have clear land titling Acts. “Land is the State subject and it is the responsibility of the State governments to bring in this Act,” he added.
Published - February 06, 2024 09:13 pm IST
