Introduction
Government of India started the centrally sponsored scheme of computerisation of land records (CLR) in 1988-89. The scheme was 100% funded by the Centre. This was a result of emphasis laid by our Planning Commission in proper maintenance of land records as the basis of good administration. The need was also reiterated by the Second Planning Commission and the Third. The Sixth Plan even envisaged the completion and updation of land records during 1980 to 1985. To quote the Sixth Plan document, "Systematic programmes would be taken up for compilation and updating of land records for completion within a period of five years……"
The Eighth Plan (1992-1997) and the Ninth Plan (1997-2002) also envisaged the fulfillment of all the five year plans for National Land Reforms Policies. It needs no further emphasis to state that all the Plan documents have put considerable importance in the fact that, land is a very important asset and this has a direct role to play in overall development of the people in villages as well as towns. Even in urban areas land assets have great importance and no administration can afford to neglect the necessity of efficient management of land.
To put the Planning Commission efforts into practice the Conference of Revenue Ministers in 1985 advocated the pilot project approach for computerisation of land records data. Pilot projects were taken up in eight districts spread over that many states. Subsequently the scheme was extended in 1992 to cover 24 districts. By the end of the Eighth Plan 299 districts were brought under the scheme. At present the scheme is being implemented in 544 districts of the country. In 1998-99 funds were also allotted for digitization of maps and pilot projects were sanctioned in a number of states. Evaluation studies were carried out in different districts during 1999 and after that the Government issued out a comprehensive policy document called the VISION Document. Some of the important policy issues were covered in this document. However, there is a lot more to be done to have a closer look at the project. However, it is likely that even the contents of this document have not been properly disseminated to persons who need to know them.
What I have mentioned so far is to highlight the fact that after 12 years (88 to 2000) of efforts and spending several hundreds of crores of rupees, we are yet to see one complete district where the land records have been fully computerised and the administration can actually boast of using such a system for the purpose for which it is basically meant for. The subject primarily deals with the policy issues which are of great importance when we plan to develop a National Land Information System for a land of diversity like that of India. I plan to cover it under the following headings :-
- Do we need a National LIS ?
- Problems in creating a National LIS.
- Policy issues to be addressed by the Central and the State Governments.
Do we need a National LIS ?
My experience in my meetings with state level functionaries often makes me feel that a large number of them do strongly feel that an LIS even at state level may not be of much use to them, leave alone at National level. Most of them visualise the CLR scheme as one of data entry and digitisation only.
Land records have been a state subject and the present manual system has so far been working. As to how efficient the present system is can be probably best judged by the success of the efforts on the part of the Government to implement the much-talked about Land Reforms. The courts today have lakhs of pending cases of land related litigations. It is also not uncommon to see the news papers with frequent headlines of law and order problems related to land related issues. Existence of land mafias, encroachments etc are directly related to the inadequacies in our land records and information system.