Proceedings of the Seminar on Land Records & RTI Act on 15thJuly 2017
1.The seminar began with a brief address by Hon’ble Chief Information Commissioner, Shri R.K. Mathur. This was followed by an address by Shri Dinesh Singh, Secretary, Department of Land Resources, Government of India.
2.Shri R. K. Mathur in his address referred to the concerns in the Information Commissions emanating from the high number of RTI applications received in almost all State Government departments dealing with Land Records and allied matters. He pointed out that a very large number of revenue, civil and criminal cases before various courts emanate from land issues. He also suggested that every State should launch a pilot at a Tehsil or District level, where all land records’ and related information is available at one place with easy accessibility to thecitizens. This would provide meaningful citizen-centric information. He emphasised that in this context it is imperative that all schemes of the Government, whether State or Central, should have a built-in element for authenticity and transparency in this critical sector.
3.Shri Dinesh Singh in his address highlighted that updated and error-free land records and access to information thereto are fundamental requirements, and particularly when seen in the light of the high incidence of land related disputes in the country. He mentioned that the Department of Land Resources was endeavouring to develop an integrated land information management system in the country under the aegis of the Digital India Land Records Modernisation Programme. Thiswill provide online single-window at-a-glance access to all available, relevant information to give a fair comprehensive position of any plot of land in question to the landowner, concerned officers / agencies and interested persons / entrepreneurs, etc.
4.The seminar was thereafter conducted by Shri Yashovardhan Azad, Hon’ble Central Information Commissioner, who started the proceedings by a brief address on the expectations from the seminar.
5.The deliberations began with a presentation on The Issues of Land Records and Access by Prof. Sridhar Acharyulu, Hon’ble Central Information Commissioner. The next presentation on Position of Implementation of RTI Act 2005 with reference to Land Records in Assam was made by Shri Himangshu Sekhar Das, State Chief Information Commissioner, Assam. The subsequent presentation on Land Records and Right to Information Act was made by Shri K. Ramanujam,State Chief Information Commissioner, Tamil Nadu. A presentation on Land Records Modernisation programme was given by Shri Hukum Singh Meena, Joint Secretary, Department of Land Resources. Another presentation on The Legal Architecture of Land Governancein India: Access to Information Challenges was made by Dr. Namita Wahi Fellow, Centre for Policy Research. A presentation on Land Acquisition and Right to Information Act was given by Ms. Mridula Singh, Senior Social Development Specialist from the World Bank. The next presentation on Computerisation of Land Records to Reduce Information Asymmetry was made by Shri Rahul Matthan, Partner of Trilegal Firm. A presentation on Updating and providing access to land records through community involvement was given by Shri M. Sunil Kumar, National Director of Landesa. The subsequent presentation on Systematic Issues in Land Records Management and Possible Linkages with RTI Act was made by Shri Amlanjyoti Goswami, Head Legal & Regulation from Indian Institute from Human Settlements. A presentation on Record Management of Defence Land was given by Shri Kedar Prasad Burande, National Institute of Defence Estates Management. The next presentation on Land Records and Implementation of RTI Act in Rajasthan was given by Shri Vikram Singh Chauhan, Special Secretary (Revenue), Government of Rajasthan, Jaipur. A presentation on Land Records and RTI Act, 2005 was made by Dr. C.S. Kumar, Principal Secretary, R&DM to Govt. of Odisha. The subsequent presentation on Citizens right to Access Land Records under RTI was given by Shri B.H. Veeresha, of Mahithi Hakku Adhyayana Kendra Bangalore. The final presentation on Open Government Data on Land, RTI & Blockchainwas made by Shri Baladevan Rangaraju, Director India Institute.
6.The ensuing deliberations saw profound interest from the participants. Shri Bimal Julka, Hon’ble Central Information Commissioner and Shri Khushrad Ahmad Ganai, State Chief Information Commissioner J & K made valuable interventions.
7.The deliberations and take-aways from the Seminar are summarised below:
(1)In view of the importance of authenticity and transparency in this critical aspect of citizens’ life it was felt that Central as well as State Governments should ensure that all schemes for modernisation of Land Records should have elements to secure authenticity and transparency, with as far as possible suo motu dissemination of land records’ data and related information built into them. The process of mutation should be automated to the extent feasible (without compromising on its quasi-judicial / judicial nature and without infringing on the applicable State-specific revenue laws). Registration should be web-enabled to the extent feasible and appropriate (without infringing on the provisions contained in the Registration Act 1908, the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act 1988, the Information Technology Act 2000 and the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act 2016). Such schematic designs will fulfil the obligations of the State under Section 4 of the Right to Information Act and also ensure transparency and consequently reduced litigation.
(2)Experiences shared during the seminar indicated that while a lot of work is being done by the State Governments under the respective State-specific revenue laws on the subject of better and transparent maintenance of land records,there is a lack of integration and consistency in various measures being taken up by the different States and under the different schemes. The Digital India Land Records Modernisation Programme attempts to build upon the commonalities that exist in the arena of land records in the various States to develop an appropriate integrated land information management system across the country, on which the different States can also add State-specific needs as they may deem relevant and appropriate. In the interest of integration and consistency and overall effectiveness of the systems being devised in the various States, it was suggested that a pilot project be taken up in each State in one District each covering the whole gamut of computerisation and digitisation of land records, ground truthing, connectivity and integration between the registration and mutation processes, adding thereon related information like circle rate, encumbrances with banks, position of revenue and civil litigation, etc. and ensuring easy accessibility to reliable land records and related information for the citizens. This implies that data on record of rights, cadastral maps, registration, circle rate, encumbrances, litigation, etc. should be updated, error-free and connected / integrated.
(3)Authenticity of information on ‘land’ should be ensured. In this regard suitable technologies (such as ‘block chain’ etc.) should also be considered for preserving the earlier data (historicity)as a check for the integrity of the extant datapresently being made available to the citizens.
(4)It was recommended that Departments of State Governments concerned with land records and State Information Commissions should interact regularly to discuss issues identified through analysis of RTI applications and orders of First Appellate Authority in order to devise ways and means to reduce the number of RTI Applications.
(5)It was recommended that all State-specific laws pertaining to land and matters related thereto in the various States of the country (as well as the Central laws in case of concurrent list subjects like registration and land acquisition)should be made available online on the official websites by each State and Central Government Department / Ministry for ready access by the citizens.
(6)The seminar participants deliberated on the issue of suo motu disclosure of land related information, including ownership and encumbrance / utilisation related information,by all Public Authorities. It was decided to recommend proactive disclosure of such information(wherever not affecting national security and public interest or otherwise not barred by any statute or judicial pronouncement). This would be helpful to the common citizens as well as to the Public Authorities.
(7)A concern was raised regarding the condition of old records pertaining to land. It was recommended that all such critical records should be carefully preserved. Appropriate technologies for treatment and safe preservation of such records should be adopted on priority, as is being done by Director General of Defence Estates in particular. Adoption of ISO certification for record maintenance systems should also be considered by the concerned Departments / Ministries of the State and Central Governments.
(8)A point of concern was the issue of missing land records, which create great difficulties for common citizens. Often furnishing of information under the RTI Act 2005 is refusedon the plea of records being unavailable. It was strongly recommended that responsibility should be squarely fixed on the custodians of the missing records, in both arenas of departmental action as well as criminal culpability as may be made out.In such cases,time-bound action should also be ensured to reach the final conclusion in the departmental and / or criminal case.
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