MOVING TOWARDS CLEAR LAND TITLES IN INDIA:

POTENTIAL BENEFITS, A ROAD-MAP AND

REMAINING CHALLENGES

By Rita Sinha
Secretary
Department of Land Resources
Ministry of Rural Development
Government of India

Introduction

On 21st August, 2008, India took a historical decision to move

from the present system of “presumptive” property titles to the
system of clear property titles, or the Torrens system, as prevalent
in other countries, such as Australia, New Zealand, UK, USA,
Canada, Switzerland, Singapore, Malaysia, etc. In India, the
Registration Act, 1908 provides for registration of deeds and
documents, but does not confer titles on the property owner, whose
title remains merely “presumptive”.

2. Conclusive Titles

2.1 A Conclusive Title may be defined as an unassailable and

conclusive proof of ownership of property. In order to reach the
stage of conferring Conclusive Titles, four fundamental principles
need to be in place, namely, that:
(i) there should be a single agency to handle property
records;
(ii) the “Mirror” principle should be operative. This requires
that at any given moment, the property records should
 Moving towards Clear Land Titles in India

mirror ground reality, i.e., they should be “real-time

records”;
(iii) the “Curtain” principle should be applicable. This
requires that the record of a title should depict the
conclusive ownership status and probing into past
transactions and titles of the property should become
unnecessary; and
(iv) there should be title guarantee and insurance for
indemnifying the property holder against any loss arising
due to inaccuracies.

2.2 With regard to the four principles mentioned above, the status
in India today is that, most of the States have two or three agencies
handling property records. The Revenue Department usually
prepares and maintains the textual records; the Survey and
Settlement Department prepares and maintains the maps; the
Registration Department does verification of encumbrances and
registration of transfer, mortgage, etc. of property. A few States
have a Consolidation Department in lieu of a Survey and Settlement
Department. In some of the States, the local bodies have been
empowered to do undisputed mutations. The urban local bodies
update property records for purposes of taxation in urban areas.
Merging these departments into a single agency is, in many cases,
administratively and politically difficult.

2.3 The tedious manual processes of survey and of the system of

property record management have resulted in outdated maps and
vast arrears of data entry in a vast number of cases. The result is

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that the records do not always reflect the ground reality and, hence,
are not universally “real-time records”.

2.4 At present, registration of deeds and documents in India

requires probing into past ownerships and transactions of properties
to establish non-encumbrance due to the system of “presumptive”
titles and due to arrears in mutation.

2.5 In the system of “presumptive” titles the question of giving title

guarantee and indemnification does not arise.

3. Potential Benefits expected from Conclusive

Titling

3.1 As a result of Conclusive Titling, maintenance of property

records will cease to be merely a tool for governance and revenue
generation but will be added to the agenda of citizen services.

3.2 Since computerization will enable property records to be

placed in the public domain, property owners will have easy access
to their records, in contrast to the present system, where the
property records are in the custody of a Revenue Department
official, usually known as the “patwari”.

3.3 The computerized property records will be real-time records

obtainable from a single window, thereby, saving the citizen time
and effort in obtaining property records.

3.4 The bane of presumptive titling is litigation, which will be

considerably reduced once the titles are conclusive and tamper-
proof.

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3.5 The time taken for preparing and obtaining real-time records,
registration and mutation will be greatly reduced.

3.6 Since market value of property and the legacy of past

transactions and titles will be available on the website, it will
facilitate property transfers and electronic payment of stamp duty
and registration fees.

3.7 While the citizens are likely to be the real beneficiaries of

Conclusive Titling, real-time cadastral records will help in better
governance as well, in areas such as disaster management, land
acquisition, rehabilitation and resettlement, land use planning and
consequential food security, management of barren land and
watershed programmes, e-credit facilities, enhanced revenues due
to proper valuation of stamp duty and registration fees, etc.

4. A Roadmap for Clear Land Titles

4.1 As we have already seen, Conclusive Titling involves four

major components viz. single-agency property record management,
“mirror” principle, “curtain” principle, title guarantee and
indemnification. The last principle will be possible only when the
first three have been put into place. Hence, priority has been given
to the implementation of the first three principles.
4.2 The Government of India has launched a major programme by
the name of “National Land Records Modernization Programme”
(NLRMP) which incorporates activities leading upto implementing
the first three principles, viz., single-agency for property records, the
“mirror” principle and the “curtain” principle. This programme has
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four major components – (i) computerization of property records; (ii)

survey and preparation of maps using modern technologies, (iii)
computerization of the Registration process and (iv) training and
capacity building. In turn, each of the components has several sub-
activities.

4.2.1 Computerization of property records involves the

following sub-activities: data entry and entry into the National Code,
conversion of textual data into the digitized format, digitization of
cadastral maps, integration of textual and spatial data, setting up
data centres at sub-divisional/tehsil1, district levels, data centres at
State level as part of data recovery and disaster management,
modern record rooms at tehsil level and inter-connectivity among
Revenue Offices.

4.2.2 The survey component consists of fresh cadastral

surveys, re-surveys and updating of survey and settlement records
including ground control network and ground-truthing. The
technologies identified for the survey are (a) pure ground truthing
using total stations (TS) and Global Positioning System (GPS) (b)
Hybrid technology using aerial photography along with ground
truthing using TS and GPS (c) High resolution satellite imagery
(HRSI) along with ground truthing using TS and GPS.

4.2.3 Computerization of Registration includes

computerization of the Sub-Registrar’s Office, data entry of property
valuation, data entry of legacy encumbrance data, scanning and
1
India is divided into 28 States and 7 Union Territories. Each State is further sub-divided into districts. The
districts are further sub-divided into sub-divisions known variously as tehsils/talukas/blocks/anchals. Four to
six villages in a district are placed in the charge of a village level Revenue functionary usually known as the
“patwari”.
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preservation of old documents and inter-connectivity between the

Registration and Revenue Offices.

4.2.4 Training and capacity building and strengthening of

training institutions are major activities under the NLRMP to build up
cadres well versed with the new technologies and new processes.

4.3 The district has been taken to be the unit for completing all the
activities enumerated above. The country has a little over 600
districts. Each State Government was requested to take up a few
districts per year in such a way that the entire State is covered in
the next eight years under the NLRMP. The States that are
undertaking cadastral surveys for the first time may take a little
longer to complete the NLRMP. The eight year Perspective Plans
include the numbers, names and details of districts chosen per
year, activities proposed to be undertaken, technologies proposed
to be used, milestones, time-frames and expenditure involved.
Sixteen State Governments have sent their Perspective Plans to
the Government of India. The latter has sanctioned Rs.2372.6
million during the current financial year through its Project
Sanctioning Committee, for implementing the NLRMP in 56
districts. It is anticipated that the activities in one district will be
completed within two to three years.

4.4 The total project cost of the NLRMP for eight years has been
estimated to be a little over Rs.56 billion of which the Central
Government will fund around Rs.31 billion and the State
Governments will be required to raise the remaining amount of Rs.
25 billion.
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4.5 It is obvious that even with the combined efforts of the Central
and State Governments, there may be gaps in fulfilling such an
ambitious programme within the targeted period. Public-private
partnerships for the NLRMP have, therefore, been made an integral
part of the scheme. The State Governments can identify areas
which can easily be contracted out to private parties, with
Government functionaries fulfilling only their legal obligations.

4.6 To roll out the NLRMP, the Government of India was expected
to prepare guidelines and technical manuals. The guidelines have
already been prepared and are in the process of being
implemented. The technical manuals are under preparation.

4.7 Several committees were required to be set up at the Central

Government level for better implementation and monitoring of the
programme such as:

(i) an Advisory Committee on the Legal Changes for

Conclusive Titling to examine the changes that will be
required in the legal framework of the country to
implement the Conclusive Titling regime. This
Committee has already been put in place and is
examining the issue in detail.

(ii) A Core Technical Advisory Group for addressing

issues relating to technology, transfer of technology to
the States and to give continuous advice regarding
technological upgradation. This Committee has been
set up and is functional. The State Governments

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have been advised to set up similar Technical

Advisory Groups and the matter is under progress.
(iii) A Programme Management Unit at the national level
to monitor and evaluate the progress under the
NLRMP. A Consultant has already been appointed to
help set up this body. The State Governments have
been advised to set up similar bodies and the matter
is under progress.

4.8 It is, thus, clear that the NLRMP will enable India to achieve
three out of four principles which form the basis of Conclusive
Titling. Although it is envisaged that the NLRMP will be completed
in eight years, the country need not wait till then to introduce
Conclusive Titling. Appropriate legislation can enable the States to
implement Conclusive Titling in a modular way by introducing it in
those districts which complete all activities necessary for the same.

5. The Remaining Challenges

5.1 Magnitude of the Problem
5.1.1 The challenge of implementing the NLRMP can be better
appreciated if we see the true dimension of the exercise being
undertaken – probably one of the largest in the world!

5.1.2 India has to survey an area of approximately 2.16 million

sq. kms.

5.1.3 In the rural areas alone, more than 140 million land
owners have more than 430 million records. There are about 92
million ownership holdings each with four to six parcels of holdings.
Not only has the survey to be done for each plot of land, but a
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settlement has to be arrived at between the Government and each

land owner, certifying that the owner is satisfied with the survey.
This involves meticulous ground-truthing after using the
sophisticated technology of either satellite imagery or aerial
photography along with TS and GPS.

5.1.4 A similar survey is required for approximately 55 million

urban households. Urban areas would require door-to-door
surveys, which will be all the more cumbersome in multi-storied
buildings. The technology for surveying urban properties is yet to
be finalized.

5.1.5 Considering the vast size of the country, i.e., 3.29 million
sq. kms., establishing the ground control point library (GCPL)
presents a major problem. The Survey of India (SoI) has developed
a national control frame and the first phase of GCPL of 300 points
at a spacing of about 200 to 300 kms. apart covering the whole
country has been provided. In the second phase, 2200 points at a
spacing of 30 to 40 kms. apart, and a third phase of GCPL with
control points at a distance of about 8 to 10 kms. apart have yet to
be established.

5.1.6 India has approximately 6,40,000 villages. Out of these,

1,40,000 villages, largely in southern and western India, are
surveyed by using field measurement books (FMBs) based on data
of plot measurements, i.e., the “FMB method”. Each village has
approximately 300 FMBs. Thus, around 42 million FMBs are
required to be digitized. The remaining 5,00,000 villages follow the
system of “village maps”. One village has between 1 to 3 map
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sheets. Thus, the minimum village maps estimated to need

digitization is around 1.00 million.

5.1.7 India has 4018 registration offices in the country. Of

these, 1896 have yet to be computerized. Barring the State of
Haryana all other Registration Offices have to be inter-linked with
the Revenue Departments of the respective States.

5.1.8 Some parts of the country have never been surveyed

and cadastral surveying is being done for the first time. Even in
those States where surveys have been carried out, Government
lands, rural residential areas known as “abadi sites” have never
been surveyed. Urban areas require fresh surveys as the urban
local bodies merely update data for purposes of taxation but not for
ownership.

5.2. Constitutional Provisions

5.2.1 Under the Indian Constitution, “Land” is a State subject
and the Central Government cannot legislate on it. Each State
Government will have to usher in its own laws keeping in mind the
overall spirit of Conclusive Titling and at the same time adjusting
local requirements in the legislations. Some Central Acts may also
need modification for which the Central Government will have to
take the initiative. The latter is developing a “model law” for
Conclusive Titling as a hand-holding exercise for those States
which may request for help in drafting the State legislation.

5.3. The Challenge of language computing

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5.3.1 Land records in India are maintained by State

Governments in the local language. India has nine major scripts
covering 18 languages. Moreover, in each State, a different
terminology is used for describing the record of property rights.
India has had to come out with information technology software
capable of being compatible with the regional languages. The
challenge lies in operationalizing the software across the country.

5.4 Problem of Integration

5.4.1 Not only do the States have different languages and
terminologies for property records, they also have different
methodologies for preparing textual and spatial land records. Even
within a State there may be more than one method of preparing and
maintaining these records, depending upon historical factors in the
creation of the State. For example, the State of Andhra Pradesh
has been created by the unification of the erstwhile Telengana
State and some areas taken out of the erstwhile Madras
Presidency. Villages falling within the erstwhile Telengana State
continue to follow the pattern of land records preparation and
maintenance of the Telengana State, while the rest of the villages
follow the pattern of the Madras Presidency. Karnataka State was
carved out of four erstwhile princely kingdoms, each of which
followed its own system of preparing and maintaining land records.
These four methods continue to be followed in the State even
today.

5.4.2 For preparing software for computerization of data,

digitization, and integration of textual and spatial data, these factors

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have to be kept in mind. It is difficult to have single software for use

throughout the country, and virtually each State has had to evolve
software compatible with its land revenue system/s. Those States
that are doing their first cadastral survey have to evolve their own
system/s for preparing textual and spatial land records.

5.5 Creating a National Code for data computing

5.5.1 Due to variations in languages and terminologies among
the States while referring to the property records, the Central
Government developed a National Code for data computing and
circulated it to all State Governments for filling in the data. This will
facilitate creation of a national database of property records and
other attributes. The challenge lies in ensuring that each State
adopts this National Code and fills it up systematically. The
Programme Management Unit will monitor and interpret this vast
volume of data that will be accessed at the national level.

5.6 Technology
5.6.1 Selection of technology is a major challenge for the
country as a whole, as well as for each State Government. The
varied topography of the country requires a judicious combination of
technologies for proper survey. A single district may have a variety
of terrains such as plains, hills and valleys and forests. The
technology for valleys and forests and urban areas has yet to
stabilize.

5.6.2 Even where appropriate technologies have been

identified, transferring the technology down to the field level workers

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all over the country is a daunting task. It is difficult to organize

national level programmes and workshops for technology transfer
due to the variety of languages spoken by the field level workers.

5.6.3 Due to change in technology, issues relating to security

of data, redefinition of accuracy standards and a system for 100%
quality check for errors in computerization and digitization have to
be put into place.

5.7 Capacity Building

5.7.1 Intimately linked with transfer of technology is the issue

of capacity building. Where once the knowledge of measuring land
by chain and tape was enough for Revenue functionaries, they now
have to be well versed with computers, scanning, digitization, TS,
GPS, aerial photography, satellite imagery, and to some extent,
with the registration process. Similarly, the Registration Officers
have now to be trained in computers as well as in land record
management. The capacity building involves between 0.1 to 0.2
million “patwaris”, staff for approximately 5000 tehsils and 4000
Registration Offices, and over 50,000 survey staff.

5.7.2 The first step would be to build a cadre of master trainers

at the State level who would then ensure percolation of technology
to the district level, from where it would be transferred to the village
level. This requires time, effort and financial resources.

5.7.3 For effective capacity building, upgradation of existing

training institutes has been made an integral part of the NLRMP.

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Some States do not have a training institute and a way will have to
be found to establish one.

5.8 Pendency

5.8.1 The manual systems of survey, record keeping,

registration, mutation, etc. have created a large backlog of work
which must be attended to in a mission mode to ensure updation of
records. One way of addressing this challenge could be
outsourcing the work or hiring of temporary staff by Government
agencies.

5.9 Departmental integration

5.9.1 In most of the States, the Revenue, Registration,
Panchayati Raj or local bodies Departments are headed by
separate Ministers/Secretaries. Politically and administratively it
may be difficult to integrate them immediately. Information
technology has provided a way out by letting them be inter-linked
procedurally without disturbing the administrative arrangements.
However, it will be a challenge to make this integrated system
function smoothly within the existing regimen.

5.10 Moving together

5.10.1 The States within the country are at different stages in
the modernization process – some of them doing cadastral mapping
for the first time while others have already integrated the revenue
and registration processes and are just a few steps away from
Conclusive Titling. The challenge for the Central Government is to
bring all the States to the same level of modernization, so that the
country moves together towards Conclusive Titling without
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disturbing the varied socio-economic systems prevailing in the

States.

6. The Way Forward

India has begun the journey towards the goal of ushering in
the system of Conclusive Tiles with title guarantee. Modernization
of the land records management and property registration systems
is the first step. The task appears to be stupendous, with
monumental challenges at every step of the way. With the
unstinted support of the State Governments, the Department of
Land Resources in the Ministry of Rural Development, which has
rolled out the NLRMP, is confident of fulfilling its charter.

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