India’s Real Estate Disputes & Gujarat’s Land Digitization: The Path to Transparency

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September 28, 2024

India’s current property-related dispute scenario

India faces a staggering backlog of an estimated 31 million cases pending in various courts. According to 2015 records, 59,272 cases were pending in the Supreme Court of India, about 3.8 million in the High Courts, and roughly 27 million before the subordinate judiciary. Alarmingly, 26% of cases—over 8.5 million—are over five years old. Real estate or land disputes, particularly those involving land ownership, are time-consuming, taking an average of twenty years to resolve.

The dispute resolution process significantly impacts India's economy and global perception of doing business. The World Bank's 2016 "Ease of Doing Business Report" reveals that India requires up to 1,420 days and 39.6% of the claim value to resolve disputes. The table below compares dispute resolution time and cost across various countries.

One such case for this article is the Gujarat Land Digitization Programme:

Gujarat has been one of the pioneering states in modernising its land records. In 2008, the Gujarat government embarked on an ambitious project under the Digital India Land Records Modernisation Programme (DILRMP) to digitise rural and urban land records and improve transparency. Between 2009 and 2018, the state government implemented the resurvey across all districts.

To achieve this, advanced technologies like Differential Global Positioning Systems (DGPS), Electronic Total Systems (ETS), and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) were utilised to map survey numbers and land parcels. The goal was to create an accurate, up-to-date digital land record database that reflected the true dimensions and land ownership of every plot, whether in urban or rural areas.

The Process of Creating Digital Records

The digitisation process involved high-tech machines to capture precise land boundaries and measurements. These measurements were then linked with geographic attributes such as latitude and longitude to create a comprehensive cadastral survey of the state. Ideally, this system should have provided an accurate and reliable foundation for land record details, but flaws surfaced in its execution.

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Post Gujarat’s Land Digitization Programme

While the intent behind Gujarat’s land digitisation programme was commendable, the execution encountered several challenges. One key issue was the reliance on outdated land records and maps. Rather than conducting fresh, scientifically sound measurements, many of the new digital records were digitised versions of old, inaccurate data. This has led to widespread discrepancies between actual land holdings and what appears in the digital system.

Karshan Joshi's Story

A case in point is Karshan Natha Joshi, a 60-year-old Devbhumi Dwarka farmer whose land was incorrectly mapped in the new system. When the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) issued acquisition notices for a new airstrip project, several farmers received notices despite their land not falling within the acquisition zone. Joshi, whose land was part of the airstrip plan, received no notice. This discrepancy underscored the flaws in the digitisation process. [Dwarka Emergency Highway Airship]

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Between 2020 and 2021, the Gujarat government received 1.68 lakh applications requesting corrections to these digital land records. District inspectors of land records and other officials from Mamlatdar offices struggled to address a large number of complaints. A single correction often triggered a cascade of changes in the (7/12) Record of Rights Document, leading to further delays and disputes. Instead of simplifying property search and ownership, digitisation has sometimes made the process more cumbersome.

The Future of Land Records in Gujarat

However, there is hope. The authorities have been diligently working to resolve these issues through ongoing efforts in the resurvey project. In recent years, there has been a decline in the number of correction requests. The future of land record digitisation in Gujarat looks promising, with initiatives like the Jan Seva Kendra helping streamline access to property cards and revenue case details. Still, only time will reveal the full impact of these digital transformations.

In the meantime, you can easily avoid manual hassle and instantly obtain your land record details with Landeed, helping you quickly access property-related crucial information.