Land Records Modernisation in India – II

Abstract

The first set of land volumes by Indian Institute for Human Settlements, published in 2017, studied the status of land records modernisation in four states of India, and included an institutional, legal and policy review at the national level. Continuing the approach, this second set of land volumes presents findings from five more states and union territories: Delhi, Maharashtra, Chandigarh, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh. This widening of the research base to include nine states and union territories enables the articulation of a more representative picture at the national scale. One of the important findings from IIHS’s initial studies was that property records in Indian cities are characterised by a lack of legacy records; lack of necessary financial resources; a complex institutional system without a single-custodian approach, and often, no enabling legal framework. This set of land volumes takes a more focused approach and looks primarily at the status of urban land and property records in India, and the associated complexities, while considering the larger status of land records administration in the state as a determinant. Based on primary and secondary research conducted by an IIHS team over 2017-2020 in five states of India, these volumes also show recent gains in the overall trajectory of land record modernisation in the country.