He’s not the only one. Millions of rural folk across the country are benefiting from the computerisation of land ownership records. Already, all land records in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Goa and Gujarat have been computerised and are available online. Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh, Sikkim, Andhra Pradesh, Pondicherry and the National Capital Region are in an advanced stage of computerisation. While the Ministry of Rural Development is providing funds to states for data collection, collation and site preparation, the National Informatics Centre provides technical support and training.
The projects and the software being used in these states may have different names (Bhoomi in Karnataka, Tamil Nilam in Tamil Nadu, Apna Khata in Rajasthan, e-Dhara in Gujarat and Himbhoomi in Himachal Pradesh) but the underlying objective remains common—bringing efficiency into governance by the swift delivery of government services for the benefit of the common man.
Power to the people
In Haryana, the initiative was kicked off in 1997-98 with pilot projects in three districts. But it got a fillip when the Congress Government took over office last year. Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda directed the district collectors to speed up the process and gave them a strict deadline of 31 March (see interview). Says Hooda: “Ours is a farmer friendly government. There were possibilities of harassment of the public by officials. Computerisation will prevent that.”
Two software programs are used in Haryana. HARIS, or the Haryana Registration Information System, registers all types of documents—sale deeds, mortgage deeds, wills, power of attorney, gift deeds, lease deeds, deed for exchange of property, etc. The HALRIS, or Haryana Land Record Information System, maintains the record of land ownership in the district. The two systems are integrated and whenever any transaction document is registered, the record of rights (jamabandi) gets updated simultaneously. Citizens can access information regarding the ownership of land on the Internet (www.jamabandi.nic.in) or at the computerisation centres in the state.
Weeding out corruption
Technology is an honest worker. It does not discriminate between rich and poor, does not get influenced by the high and the mighty. And it does not accept bribes. Most importantly, technology is completely inflexible when it comes to rules and regulations. For a computer, its program is the holy writ. There is no deviation from that.
For instance, every area is assigned a particular minimum rate by the government. This is also known as the collector rate. Land cannot be sold for less than the collector rate. But buyers used to bribe officials and state a very low sale value to save on stamp duty. Of course, the balance was usually paid in unaccounted money.
But HARIS has brought down the shutters on such basement sales. The computer will not register a transaction if the land is being sold for less than the floor price (or official rate) of the property. Says Sukriti Likhi, district collector, Yamunanagar: “By taking away discretionary powers from the hands of small revenue department officials, computerisation ensures greater transparency. It has also augmented the government’s revenue collection from stamp duty.”
Greater transparency
There’s more to computerisation than just speeding up the process of registration and mutation. HALRIS has injected greater transparency into the property market. At the click of a mouse a buyer can verify the name of the owner of the land he intends to purchase. Says Ramesh Gupta, district information officer at Yamuna Nagar, “The possibility of frauds, such as somebody selling off another man’s land without his knowledge, forcibly getting someone to sell his property by getting his thumbprint, or selling the same land to two parties, gets reduced.”
This is a sea change. Earlier, obtaining a copy of the record of rights meant delay, harassment, even bribery. Now, anyone can view the ownership details on the Net. If a villager does not have access to a computer, he can visit the district computerisation centre and see the records on a touch-screen based system. For a nominal fee of Rs 10, he can even get a copy of the record of rights. The patwari is available at the centre to attest the document.
The road ahead
What Haryana has achieved through this e-governance initiative is, however, only half the distance. The government needs to increase the penetration of computers at the village level so that it becomes easier for rural folk to access information. This would require substantial investments in hardware.
Another major roadblock is the mindset of local officials. Patwaris need to embrace this change and cooperate with the initiative. Strengthening and expanding this computerisation drive would be the best way of bringing prosperity to rural India.
‘Computerisation will check corruption’
When he took over the reins of the state last year, Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda had vowed to end corruption and bring transparency into governance. The computerisation of land records is a crucial step in that direction. Land records of most districts are now available online. Hooda discusses the computerisation initiative with Mukesh Bhardwaj
Why has computerisation of land records been given priority?
The revenue establishment plays a crucial role in matters fundamental to the existence of citizens. Chances of corruption and harassment of the public are very high here. This was one area where innocent villagers, especially farmers, were made to suffer at the hands of government staff. Ours is a farmer-friendly government. Since I had made it a point to eradicate corruption, this issue was accorded top priority.
How will this initiative help rural citizens?
Villagers will be able to get copies of land records quickly and easily. The possibility of corruption and harassment in matters such as registration of documents and mutation of property records will also be reduced. This system will also ensure regular and automatic update of revenue records as well as effective revenue administration and land reforms.
Will it also benefit the exchequer?
Computerisation of land records has already started paying dividends to the state in terms of revenue collection. Now the buyer can’t understate property prices, as was happening earlier. Stamp duty is now charged according to collector rates. Collections have risen ever since the system was implemented.
How will digitisation help curb malpractices related to property?
The system has effectively helped check bogus registration of instruments of immovable property. The physical presence of executants of such instruments has become compulsory. They have to be present before the registering authority and the computer to be photographed. This system also calculates the correct stamp duty chargeable, based on collector rates and the facts shown in the deed. Computerisation will also reduce dependence on low-level officials of the revenue department.
Was there any opposition to the computerisation drive from politicians and the bureaucracy?
There was no opposition at all. Rather there was unflinching support from both quarters as this was a public interest initiative with no ulterior motives.
Most rural folk are not computer literate. How will the benefits reach them?
We kept this in mind while devising the system. District collectors have been instructed to hold training camps to acquaint villagers with the new methods. And with the Internet reaching every nook and corner of the country, even the rural populace is beginning to benefit from the system.
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‘This reduces possibility of frauds’
Sukriti Likhi, the district collector of Yamunanagar, spoke to Sanjay Kr Singh on the benefits of computerising land records.
How does computerisation of land records benefit the common man?
Under the manual system, the jamabandi was updated every five years. If you purchased a property today, even if you got the mutation done it would take a lot of time before your name would enter the records. Now, because the systems are inter-linked, the jamabandi records get updated almost simultaneously. This reduces the chances of frauds.
What kind of frauds could take place and how can computerisation eliminate them?
After the sale of a property is registered, the mutation is done. Mutation means that if nobody objects to a transaction, then the name of the new owner gets entered in the jamabandi, or the record of rights. If the buyer hasn’t got the mutation done, a dishonest seller could sell the same land to another person. With computerisation, the new owner’s name enters the records almost immediately. The second buyer will be able to check the records and find out who the owner is. This way the possibility of fraud would reduce.
How does computerisation improve transparency?
Now a villager can go to the touch-screen and check who is the owner of a particular piece of land in his village. He can also check this information on the Internet. All this is part of our effort to make information more easily available.
How are entries made?
The jamabandi for each village is a massive document. The whole document is first entered into the computer correctly. Next printouts are taken, and the patwari of the village checks it against his manual records. If there are any errors, these are rectified. Only then are the records uploaded.
Won’t that take very long?
There are 655 villages in this district alone. The process has been on since 1991. But the new government gave strict deadlines. The chief minister wanted the computerisation to be completed by 31 March.
How many such centres will a district have?
We have two tehsils and four sub-tehsils. We will have computer centres at all six centres.
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How touch screens work
- For viewing the ownership details of a particular piece of land, enter the name of the village in the box on the touch screen.
- Rural properties have unique identification numbers which are given as the khasra and khewat numbers, just like blocks and individual house numbers in urban areas. Enter the khasra and khewat numbers and the ownership details will show on the touch screen.
- If you don’t know the khasra or khewat number, you can still access the information on the property. Just enter the name of the village and of the owner and the options will show on the touch screen.
Autor: Sanjay Kr Singh
Quelle: Express Estates, 07.04.2006
