The Hans India: New Delhi: Tuesday, July 18, 2017.
During a
survey, one officer asked a farm-woman: “What’s your problem, you have land and
possession with farming for decades, why do you need a piece of paper?” She
said: “Sir, if you have knowledge, isn’t that enough? Why are you asking for a
degree?”
Ownership is
fine, but title is essential for transactions over it. Land records offer
lifeline of agriculture economy. Land record
is one of the most important document of human history. It indicates not just
individual land ownership patterns but also the way communities worked and
revenue models operated.
They indicate
cultivation trends and economic development, show the gradual socio-political
and economic transformation of a particular region, down to the very basic unit
of a village. Land records are a commentary on social dynamics, gender
equations and cultural hegemonies besides being the lifeline of an effective
system.
They are the
basis on which institutional mechanisms can work and provide their services,
the foundation on which policies are designed, revenue sources are decided,
welfare measures are delineated, beneficiaries identified and budgets prepared.
They are the source for mapping and cartographic data.
Land is the
source of sovereignty and basis of governance.
Land provides legal status to land owner/cultivator. Most importantly, for a farmer to attain full
legal status as an owner, it is required that: a) s/he
should be in possession of the land; b)
s/he should hold a title document/patta; and c) his/her name should figure in the revenue/land
records as the owner of that particular land.
It is
estimated that 50 to 80 per cent of land owners in Telangana do not have one of
these three essentials. Recently, it was reported that the Chief Minister of
Telangana asked revenue officials whether there was a single village where land
records were proper. He knew the ground realities. Most of the farmers do not
even know that their records are defective. If there is no straight record on
hand, being on land will be of no help.
The record
empowers the farmer. If defective, it robs the farmer of his livelihood. Though
he does not have any money, he may still need to pay bribe or fee for lawyer
and spend his time around courts of law for decades.
Disputes over
land, frustration with corruption in revenue offices, delay in justice delivery
drive the agriculturists to private settlement muthas or turn them criminals.
Millions of families are being broken.
Costly
litigation
Daksh, an
NGO, says Rs 58,000 crore is being spent on litigation in both civil and
criminal cases by the people (State’s expenditure is additional). Around 66 per
cent of litigation is about land. Litigation of this kind causes a loss of 1.3
per cent GDP. The poor still suffer as the litigation lingers on.
Surprisingly,
updating land records through transparent procedures will result in reduction
of 2/3rd of pending cases before judiciary. If land records are reformed, the
judiciary will be reformed. Sunil Kumar
of Landesa has identified at least 76 types of land record-related issues,
disputes based on which could be resolved.
Former Chief
Justice of India, M N Venkatachalaiah, in his foreword to a ‘Report on Status
of Judiciary’ by Daksh, said: “Justice, it is said, is the greatest interest of
humans on earth. The history of institutional mechanisms to resolve conflicts
between citizens and the state, and citizens inter se, is in itself a
reflection of civilisational values and the state of evolution of any
society... Law, it is said, is a notorious laggard. It does not reach out as
science does.
It follows
social consensus which is itself behind the need of the times...Litigations linger
on for generations. It is the result of unscientific, non-productive, petrified
procedures and a history of wasted judicial time over routine non-judicial
repetitive motions in courts without any value addition to the decision-making
process. We are committing unthinking unilateral disarmament against
injustice.”
The place
where things really happen is the trial court and within the trial system. The
problems of the superior courts in their correctional jurisdiction arise from
the failure of the trial system. The result is loss of man hours, wages, and
productivity on account of non-productive, idle listing of cases, estimated at
Rs 50,387 crore a year, apart from the actual wasted expenses, estimated at
nearly Rs 30,000 crores a year.
Land
reforms or land-record reforms?
Land reforms
cannot even be initiated if the land records are not reformed or refined.
Without updating the land records there is no point in talking about
digitisation of records, which means scanning the defective documents with
thousands of wrongful and manipulated entries.
For updating
records, one needs to first publish existing records or provide easy access to
each villager, invite the objections, survey the land, consult the neighbours
and finalise the records in an authentic manner. In some of villages in Telangana, where the
records are written on the walls of panchayat office, the people thronged with
a number of complaints, and increased pressure on revenue personnel to remove
errors.
Allow people
in every village to raise objections. Ambiguity of records is a natural block
in access and definite source of corruption. Any government is bound to fail
with the lack of transparency and rise of bribery.
Digitisation
of error-free records is not just an issue of Right to Information. It will be
a serious issue of administration, development, peace and progress also.
Disclosure is a requirement of civilisation.
If a state cannot disclose land records, it cannot be called as
government and much less a democracy.
Without
confirming owner or cultivator or possessor, subsidies, inputs, fertilisers or
seeds and loans etc., would fill pockets of corrupt. Loan waiver, being a huge burden on
exchequer, helps undeserved without serving the aimed objective, and fails to
prevent suicidal tendencies.
Modernisation:
An old story
National Land
Records Modernisation is a great idea but it has been running for several
decades. Achievements are nowhere near the target. The new government at the
Centre reviewed, reformed and renamed it as Digital India Land Records
Modernisaion Programme, providing 100 per cent funding to States, for which it
allocated Rs 11,000 crore.
Digitisation
should not end with scanning of records but extend to continuous maintenance
and access, with periodical updation of new transactions over land. The state
should realise that the digitisation itself does not amount to automatic
access.
Putting the
records on website will replace almirahs with computers but does not solve the
problems of illiterates and cilliterates (ignorant of cyber systems). Lack of computers, electricity, bandwidth and
knowledge to operate will render digital records inaccessible, bringing the
situation back to square one. The PIOs say information is available on website
and close most of RTI applications. It is an indirect denial of information. Instead,
they should download, print out and provide copies.
Insulate
records from manipulations
Technology
should not become a new iron curtain preventing access for rural masses and an
easy tool for tampering. If updated records are not insulated from manipulations,
story of exploitation continues. It should adopt legal changes like excluding
the names of deceased and adding the new heirs etc., within a time frame, under
the order of appropriate authority. A
computer operator should not be allowed to change the name of owner in ten
minutes to give a printed copy of computerised title deed!
The law
and its non-compliance
Obligations
prescribed under Public Records Act 1993 are to catalogue, classify, maintain
and periodically update the records while a similar obligation is imposed under
RTI Act 2005. The Public Records Act does not have enforceability in states, as
they should have matching legislation. Besides the compliance of these two laws
is a big issue.
Are we
civilised?
Our archaic
land records reflect our quality of administration and the goodness of
governance. If we do not correct those records for decades, it reflects our
efficiency. If we talk of reforms without reforming the records, it shows our
commitment.
If we talk
about empowerment without access to records, it shows our civilization. If we
talk but do not decide, it explains our honesty. (Based on paper submitted by
author at a conference of Central and State Information Commissioners on “Land
Records and Right to Information,” on 15th July 2017)
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