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April 2001
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Delhi to update 93-yr-old land records- Finally
New Delhi, April 19, After 93 years, land record files of the city are going to be updated. The 1,908 records are going to be opened, the miles converted into square kilometers and the boundaries between urban and rural land, redrawn. The Delhi government has released funds for a pilot project, which will include the digital mapping and land settlement of two areas in the city.
In other states, this exercise is undertaken every 30 years. Revenue and land records are updated every 30 years and all new settlements are taken into account. Changing land profile is registered and new landmarks are indicated.
But in Delhi, land record files have not been opened since 1908. Laws changed, land use changed, fields became housing colonies, landmarks disappeared, but the Capital's land records were never updated. The result - growing number of land disputer cases in court, government departments squabbling over plots, harried divisional commissioners and records with names of land owners who lived in 1908.
With an aim to change this, Tikri Kalan in west district and Nana Kheri in southwest district have been chosen as the first two villages to witness the mapping. As part of this project, all land details of the two villages will be recorded. Aerial survey pictures of the area will be matched with old file pictures, the differences recorded and subsequently land disputes will be settled.
Divisional Commissioner G.S. Patnaik explains, "The records are going to be put in order. We have to do it because the numbers of dispute cases are going up and details of how the land in this city is used are not available. This project will map two areas and then we will slowly do it for the entire city."
With the help of base maps provided by the National Informatics Centre (NIC), Global Positioning System Coordinates will be identified in both districts. This will be followed by identifying landmarks in the area, redrawing plot boundaries and then settling whatever disputes people have. The same exercise will be conducted in all parts of the city, including urban areas.
According to officials, the project will be completed before the year-end but the entire land survey will take much longer. "There are so many problems," says an official. "For starters, as per the 1908 regulations we are governed by the Punjab Settlement Act, which has undergone many changes in the last 50 odd years. However, during the survey we will have to go to the old law and modify it in accordance with ground reality. Secondly, we will have to change over to the metric system. Our records are in miles."
At the end of this long exercise, officials hope to sort out land dispute problems quickly. "Take the case of the construction of the metro rail," says Patnaik. "There are so many land dispute cases on. When these cases are referred to us, we can't go by our records because they still indicate fields in areas where colonies have come up." He adds, "Also, ownership of land becomes a big question mark. Updating records will put an end to all this confusion."
Related News:
Geographic Information Systems Promotions For Land Records Management
(http://www.gisdevelopment.net/news/2000/dec/gislis.htm)
Jamaica to use IKANOS satellite imagery to update land records
(http://www.gisdevelopment.net/news/2001/mar/na004.htm)
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