The Town Survey Land Register (TSLR) sketches for private lands located in urban areas across the State are not available in the Tamil Nadu government’s portal (Anytime/Anywhere e-Services), causing hardship for the general public and activists working against encroachment of public places.
While provisions for viewing patta/chitta and A-register extracts, patta copies, Field Measurement Book (FMB) for rural areas, could be accessed on the portal eservices.tn.gov.in, the provision for TSLR sketches for urban areas could not be obtained even though a provision for this is available.
“The absence of TSLR sketches for urban areas is preventing people from knowing whether there are encroachments of private properties in the areas or encroachments of waterbodies or other public places,” contended activist V. Gopalakrishnan, who has been trying to obtain such sketches in-person from offices concerned.
In urban areas, the density and commercial value of lands is high, and it was all the more reason for the sketches to be made available online, similar to rural areas, he pointed out. “Since they are not available online, people are forced to spend several days to obtain them from offices concerned. It takes several days to obtain just one sketch”
When people apply for a sketch, officials, mostly Assistant Engineers in the civic bodies communicate this to the respective Taluk offices and it takes several days for obtaining sketches. “If sketches could be made available online, it will help the people,” he added.
Social activist P. Viswanathan points out that the pattas only provide the measurement of a land in ‘are’ (a unit of measurement) and not in square feet, even though a ‘house site’, as defined in Section 23 of the Tamil Nadu Patta Passbook Act, 1983, is often measured in square feet. “Providing measurement in square feet would help people in avoiding unnecessary litigation.”
Not only were the TSLR sketches for urban areas not available online but some of the FMBs for rural areas too could not be obtained, claims Mr. Viswanathan, who is also the convener of Chitlapakkam Residents’ Association Coordination Committee. “We need a strong server for operating this portal,” he said.
When contacted, a reliable source in the Revenue and Disaster Management Department told The Hindu that the sketches for urban areas were not available online. “It [TSLR sketches for urban areas] is to be brought online, for which we are taking steps. The background work is happening and validation is going on. It will be brought online shortly,” the official said.
