News Excerpt:
The Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry is drafting a law to centralize all urban land and building records in Delhi under a new Delhi Urban Lands and Immovable Property Records Authority, led by the Lieutenant Governor.
More About News
- This initiative will encompass all notified urban areas within the National Capital Territory of Delhi.
- Since land in Delhi is a central subject under Article 239AA of the Constitution, the proposed law will not fundamentally change who controls land policy in the capital.
Current Scenario
- Presently, Delhi lacks a unified system or law for urban land and building records.
- Rural land records are maintained under the Delhi Land Reforms Act, 1954, and the Punjab Land Revenue Act, 1887.
- However, the 1954 Act does not apply to urbanized villages, municipal corporation-owned land, or land acquired for public purposes.
- The existing records focus on agricultural land, listing details such as khasra numbers (field lists) and khatauni (cultivator lists).
Multiple Agencies for Land Records
- The Delhi government's Revenue Department maintains the Record of Rights (RoR) for village land parcels.
- Property tax records are handled by the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD).
- The Land & Development Office (L&DO) under the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs holds historical land records from the British era.
- The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) maintains records of land acquired for development.
Proposed Changes
- The draft Bill from MoHUA proposes the establishment of the Delhi Urban Land and Immovable Property Records Authority, chaired by the Delhi LG, with officials from the DDA, MCD, NDMC, Delhi Cantonment Board, L&DO, and Revenue Department as members.
- This Authority will set guidelines for creating and maintaining urban land records, appoint officers to survey urban areas, conduct property rights inquiries, and impose penalties for information concealment.
- The Bill aims to create an urban RoR, listing all holders, occupants (excluding tenants), owners, or mortgagees of the land, along with assignees of rent revenue.
- It will also include the names of government lessees or tenants and detail their interests and liabilities regarding the land or property.
Significance
- The NITI Aayog’s 2021 report, Urban Planning Capacity in India, highlighted the lack of usable maps in many major cities as a significant hindrance to planning processes and capacity.
- A 2023 policy brief by the Indian Institute of Human Settlements (IIHS) noted that in some states, RoRs are either non-existent or not updated after areas are urbanized, as Revenue Departments often believe this is the responsibility of municipalities or urban development authorities.
- The lack of a single custodian for Delhi’s land records leads to inconsistencies and makes property title searches cumbersome.
