The registration of the deed is mandatory to ensure transfer of title (ownership) of a particular piece of land in the government's revenue records. (Representational)After putting a halt on registration of land deeds last month, Haryana Monday resumed the process in rural areas. The government had stopped the process following multiple complaints of anomalies and irregularities. The government has now digitised the revenue records and linked it with a new software for a fool-proof registration process. The Indian Express explains the changes that the government has brought in.
What is a registration of land deed?
Registration of a land deed is a land management system whereby all important instructions that relate to the ownership of parcels of land are marked in a government-maintained register (revenue record). The registration of the deed is mandatory to ensure transfer of title (ownership) of a particular piece of land in the government’s revenue records.
Why was the registration of land deeds suspended in Haryana?
It was on July 22 that Haryana’s Financial Commissioner (Revenue) Vijai Vardhan issued orders to all the Divisional Commissioners, deputy commissioners, tehsildars-cum-sub-registrars and other concerned officers of revenue department to suspend the registration of land transfer deeds across the state, with immediate effect. The orders were issued citing “malpractices” in the registration process at various places. Opposition political parties used this order to attack state government accusing it of shielding the perpetrators of an alleged “registration scam”. However, the state government responded that the process was “temporarily suspended” to bring in “reforms” in the registration process and to make it “technology-based”.
What is the new procedure?
State government has now begun the registration of land deeds of agricultural land in rural areas, which will begin with an e-appointment. Process of taking e-appointments for registration of land deeds in urban areas also began from August 17. To keep a check on irregularities in registering deeds under Haryana Development and Regulation of Urban Areas Act, 1975, technology-based checks have been put in place by interfacing the web HALRIS application with various departments including Town and Country Planning, Urban Local Bodies, Haryana Shahri Vikas Pradhikaran, Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation, various Urban Estates, police, forests etc. The software also enables revenue officers to find out if the particular land for which registration of land deed is applied for is involved in any litigation.
What kind of anomalies were discovered that led to suspension?
State government discovered that registration of properties were being done at several places without a No-Objection Certificate (NoC) in urban areas land under Section 7-A of the Haryana Development and Regulation of Urban Areas Act. It led to mushrooming of various unauthorised settlements mainly in National Capital Region (NCR) including Gurgaon, Faridabad, Sonipat, Panipat and Rohtak. According to the amended Section 7-A, transfer by way of sale or lease of any agricultural land of less than two kanals in an urban area cannot be done with a NoC by the Town and Country Planning Department.
What is the status of linking of properties’ records with the software?
There are a total of 32 lakh properties in urban areas across the state, of which 18 lakh are integrated with the department portal. However, the government aims to bring in remaining properties also on a single platform by October 31. There are around 3.48 lakh properties of Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC) and since 2009, data of all these properties had been digitised. Of the 58,000 acquired lands, data of around 26,000 has already been uploaded on the portal.
What are the security features introduced now?
Mainly, three kind of security features have been introduced in the registration procedure. These include an application programming interface of Town and Country Planning Department to grant a NoC for urban area land notified under Section 7-A of Haryana Urban Development and Regulation of Urban Areas Act. Another feature is a One-Time-Password (OTP) that will be generated once the registration documents are handed over to the actual owner of the land. The third feature is for officials of revenue department to upload the copy of the sale deed on HALRIS within 24 hours of executing the registration of transfer of land deed.