Land Reforms in India, Vol. X : Computerisation of Land Records
Contents: I. Computerisation of land records: 1. Computerisation of land records: national perspective/S.D. Meena, Vinay Thakur, D.R. Shukla, O.P. Sisodia and S.K. Narula. 2. Computerisation of land records: inter-state variations/Manoj Ahuja and A.P. Singh. 3. Bhoomi: online delivery of record of rights, tenancy and cultivation to farmers in Karnataka/Subhash Bhatnagar and Rajeev Chawla. 4. Bhoomi: a case study/A. Rama Mohan Rao and P.V. Bhat. 5. Evaluation of computerisation of land records in Karnataka: a study from Gulbarga district/Manoj Ahuja and A.P. Singh. 6. Computerisation of land records in Haryana/Maha Singh. 7. Centrally sponsored scheme of computerisation of land records in West Bengal/S. Suresh Kumar. 8. Computerisation of land records in Goa: achievements and experiences/R.M. Vardhan. 9. Appraisal of computerisation of land records in West Bengal: a micro study/Manoj Ahuja and A.P. Singh. 10. Land records--issues and innovations: a case study of Bhojpur, Bihar/Rajesh Kumar. 11. An experience of application of IT to land records management/Sunil Kumar. 12. Computerisation of land records in Punjab: need to rethink/Manoj Ahuja and A.P. Singh. 13. Computerisation of land records in Rajasthan/Indu Gupta. II. Digitisation of Cadastral Maps: 14. Cadastral surveys: problems and solutions/N.K. Agrawal. 15. Digitisation of Cadastral Maps in Madhya Pradesh/M.K. Agarwal. 16. Do we need a digital cadastre?/S. Suresh Kumar. 17. Modern technology in survey and settlement operations in West Bengal/C.R. Das. 18. Computerisation and digitisation of survey and land records in Andhra Pradesh/T. Radha. 19. Updation of land records, computerisation and digitisation of Cadastral Survey Maps with reference to J & K/Mohd. Afzal and Ishfaq A. Khan. III. Land information system: 20. Land Information System (LIS): the Indian perspective/Alok Sharma and Lokesh Shrivastav. Index.
"This is the tenth volume in a major series which studies the status of land reforms throughout the country. It examines the progress achieved and the difficulties encountered in the computerisation of land records in various states. The basic system of land records in India was developed under British rule and has not yet been modified in accordance with present-day requirements. The ill-equipped and outdated system of maintaining these records is partially responsible for the limited success of land reform initiatives in the country.
In 1988, the central government sponsored the Computerisation of Land Records (CoLR) scheme to tackle the recurring problems thrown up by the inadequate land records system. The aim of the scheme is to create a database of records; facilitate the issuing of copies of records; minimise the possibility of land records being manipulated; and create a land management information system. Even though the scheme has been in operation for more than 15 years, progress has been highly skewed. Providing a critical appraisal of CoLR, the 20 articles in the volume are divided into the following three parts:
Computerisation of Land Records: describing the context and purpose of setting up the CoLR scheme, the papers in this part chart its progress in various states. This includes studies from Goa and Karnataka, where progress is remarkable, and from Haryana and West Bengal, where progress has been comparatively slow.
Digitisation of Cadastral Maps: this part focuses on the technical aspects of the CoLR scheme and discusses issues related to the processes and methodology of digital cadastral mapping.
Land information system: alleging that the present land management system is far from efficient, the essay in this part argues that a comprehensive 'land information system' based on digital data would be a more robust and efficient alternative to the existing cadastre-based one.
Based on empirical data and field studies, this volume is an important contribution towards understanding the socio-economic realities and social dynamics of contemporary India in the framework of land reforms. It will be of considerable interest to government officials and those engaged in the task of computerising land records, while being of equal interest to students of rural development, economics and e-governance."
