The Karnataka Excessive Court docket not too long ago dominated {that a} Geographic Info System Platform have to be created to map all land parcels within the state. This statement was made within the context of petitions filed by landowners whose land standing is disputed by the Forest Division. The order was handed on Monday by a bench consisting of Justice Suraj Govindaraj and has now been made publicly out there.
The courtroom had noticed that the present lack of interoperability between completely different databases may imply that whereas a authorized title to land is likely to be with out points in a single database, in one other division’s database, main authorized points to that title is likely to be revealed.
The courtroom stated there must be a Geographic Info System-based platform that will work as a digital map of land parcels within the state, with demarcation of forest lands based on gazette notifications, aided by satellite tv for pc imagery. This method could be linked to different databases comparable to these of the Income Division, City Planning Authority, and so on, with every bit of land having a Distinctive Land Parcel Identification Quantity. This is able to create a “digital id” for land parcels that will be time-stamped and QR code-enabled. If any land parcels fall inside a notified forest boundary, a battle alert must be robotically generated and registration of the sale deed prevented.
The courtroom additionally acknowledged that there must be a publicly accessible portal by which anybody may view a colour-coded report on land parcels, which would come with data on possession historical past, any litigation the land is concerned in, and warnings if the land falls inside a forest boundary or different comparable points.
The bench acknowledged, “This transparency mechanism would function a robust deterrent to fraud, enabling residents to carry out their very own due diligence and successfully appearing as a ‘fraud alert’ for each future purchaser. By permitting the general public to simply confirm land standing, it might handle the core problem of a lack of know-how, which ends up in misinformation that results in fraudulent transactions.”
The courtroom additionally directed the creation of an Inter-Departmental Land Dispute Decision Cell (IDLDRC) with officers from the forest, income, and concrete planning departments to take care of problems with inter-departmental battle when it comes to record-keeping. A high-level committee can be to be set as much as implement the courtroom’s directives in phases.