JOIN USThe new Land Titling Bill, 2010, drafted by the rural development ministry, can change the system of land ownership in the country and make land transactions much easier and safer. It is not widely realised that all existing modes of land ownership are either inadequate or defective. Even when ownership is bestowed by a registered deed, it is not absolute and can be disputed in many ways. Multiple registrations and claims of ownership are common and when ownership depends on a power of attorney the risk is greater. The loss of revenue to the government is huge and the cost of litigation over ownership is much more. The defective system is a legacy of the past and in spite of many declarations of intent, modernisation and simplification of the land ownership system has not taken place.
The proposed bill will ensure that property titles are conclusive and guaranteed by the government. Every immovable property will have a unique identification number. A Land Titling Authority will be formed which will ensure uniformity of procedures across the country. The Registry of Titles under the authority will erase the name of the earlier holder of property from records after a transaction and enter the name of the new holder. The authority will charge a fee for issuance of a title, which will be used to insure the property. The system of clean guaranteed titles will help to reduce litigation and ease the burden on courts.
It has also been argued that such a new system can provide momentum to economic growth and increase the GDP by as much as over 1 per cent. It will also make land acquisition for industries much less problematic. There will be more transparency and less room for corruption and land mafias’ operations. But the implementation presupposes availability of accurate data which will need to be computerised. This is a major task. More importantly, states will have to accept the legislation and act accordingly because the actual title registration work has to be done by them. All this will take time. The bill has proposed a five-year deadline after which transactions done outside the Titling Authority’s purview will be invalid. The bill is likely to be debated extensively and the ministry is open to making changes in the draft provisions.