An integrated computerised land administration system is still at dream level all over India. The need of the hour in India is to formulate a scheme to integrate the text based land record data with the graphic (map) data. There are serious issues arising out of the above proposition due to the enormity of the task involved.
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The Indian land record maintenance system has several unique features. The land record maintenance pattern differs from State to State and in certain cases variations are there within a State itself. Land records are maintained in two formats viz., text format and graphic format. These two compliment each other as they are designed to depict each other's picture in different formats. The nomenclature for the text based record differs from State to State. The text based records are of two types viz., village wise register of land records and individual land holder's record of rights. The village land record register, called A-Register in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu contains the details of the land parcels in a given village in ascending order, starting from Survey No.1. This register contains A to Z details about the land records of the village. This includes private land, Government land, wet land, dry land etc.
The second register contains the details of individuals' private land holdings. In Tamil Nadu this register is called Chitta. If a citizen holds more than one land parcel in the same village, these land parcels are brought under one ledger folio and given a title number called Patta Number or Kasra number etc. This register does not contain details of Government/public lands. All private land transactions take place from this register only. Land parcels move from one Patta/Kasra Number to another in a series of never ending transactions.
The importance of cultivation details
The importance of maintenance of land records is felt more by the farmers of the country. Because they depend on financial institutions, especially the Co-operative banks to meet out their long term and short term financial requirements. These financial institutions base their lending on the individual's land holdings as depicted in the Village land records. Before financing agriculture operations, the financial institutions need to ascertain the actual land usage over a period of time. To facilitate this, the Village Accountant/Patwari/Village Administrative Officer maintains a register which shows the exact cultivation particulars of each and every land parcel. In Gujarat this register is called Saath-Bara or 7/12. In Tamil Nadu this register is called Adangal. At any given point of time, the Village Officer can provide the cultivation details pertaining to any land parcel for two-five years.
Different States adopt different models in this regard. But all of them are capable of producing this vital cultivation history on each and every land parcel. States such as Tamil Nadu record the harvest percentage as well for each and every cultivated piece of land.
