Comprehensive digitisation of land records for both rural and urban areas was announced in the Union Budget 2024. It is a welcome move but there are many challenges for its successful implementation all over India within the next three years as envisaged in the Budget.
Presently, land records are computerised in 24 out of 28 States in India. Only in the four northeastern States of Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Sikkim, land records are not fully computerised. The need of the hour therefore is a system of uniformity in land records maintenance across the States.
There are five States in India which have separate land records for city and rural properties: Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. Most of the other States have only one land record.
The southern States of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu computerised rural land records with their own resources during the period 2001-2007. Soon after, in 2008, an ambitious project known as Digital India Land Records Modernisation Programme was launched by the Government of India to provide an integrated land records management system.
What is Bhu-Aadhaar?
Bhu-Aadhaar is generation of a Unique Land Parcel Identification Number (ULPIN) for each land across the State. Once the Unique Land Parcel Identification Number (ULPIN) or Bhu-Aadhaar is generated, it is stamped on the physical land record document held by the owner. The same ULPIN will be permanently attached to the plot of land. Even if the land is transferred, sub-divided, or undergoes any change, the ULPIN will remain the same for that geographic boundary. The main advantages of ULPIN is that it provides unique digital identity to every plot of land and ensures accurate land records through ground-level mapping and measurement and also removes ambiguity in plot identification, which often leads to land disputes.
Andhra Pradesh was the first State to complete 100% ULPIN coverage. In fact the State of Andhra Pradesh has the best practice of land records maintenance among all other States in India as Bhu-Aadhaar is also mapped with individual Aadhaar numbers of all land owners. The States of Karnataka, Odisha, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh have achieved 60-90% ULPIN coverage. Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Assam are lagging behind in ULPIN implementation due to administrative and operational challenges. Lack of digitised cadastral maps, which provide meticulous information about land divisions and boundary sizes, has also hampered interlinking of records in some States.
Challenges in Bhu-Aadhaar for rural and urban properties
The main challenge is the lack of synchronisation between the Department of Stamps and Registration records and Revenue Department records in many States in India. Property registration details of a land are not automatically transferred to the Revenue Department for online mutation in many States. It is done only in a few States presently. Digital mapping of land parcels has not been done in many States, predominantly for urban properties.
A specific challenge for urban properties is that plot layout approval details and land geo-coordinate details are not mentioned in title transfer documents in many States.
Suggestions for effective implementation of Bhu-Aadhaar across India
1. A common system of land measurement for all urban properties should be implemented. In some States like Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Punjab and parts of Haryana, urban properties are measured in square yards, whereas few States adopt square feet; some States use square metres. Likewise, a common system of land measurement for all rural properties in India should be implemented in the future. Hectares should be made as the common system of land measurement for rural properties all over India. Presently, rural land records in many States are measured in different local terminologies like bigha, biswa, biswani, kanal, marla, decimal, cents, guntas, etc.
2. A photograph of the land owner along with land co-ordinates should be reflected in the land record with ULPIN in all States. Presently, only in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, the photographs of the land owners for rural properties appear in the land record. Apart from photographs, the details of the title deed document number with its year of acquisition along with details of the concerned Sub Registrar Office through which the land owner has come into the possession of the property should also be reflected with ULPIN in future. Moreover, any property mortgages or court attachments should also be linked with ULPIN.
3. For urban properties, plot layout approval details, property tax assessment numbers and electricity connection assessment number should also be tagged with each ULPIN. This will help in more revenue generation for urban bodies and will also prevent misuse of commercial electricity connections citing domestic use.
4. In future, land use classification details should also be recorded in ULPIN by adding two more digits for urban properties. This will help in identifying the usage of land. Likewise for rural agricultural land properties, two more digits can be added in ULPIN mentioning the crop pattern sown in the agricultural field for crop data accuracy.
5. Sale deed documents presented for registration should compulsorily mention the details of land record number or ULPIN, besides geo-coordinate details of the land. For urban properties, additional details regarding plot layout, property tax assessment number and electricity assessment numbers (wherever applicable) should be compulsorily mentioned to avoid property disputes.
The writer is Chennai-based advocate and author of ‘Property Registration, Land Records and Building Approval Procedures Followed in Various States in India’.
