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India: Land Records Online
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 Land records are vital documents for both farmers and the government, used to prove ownership and required for numerous administrative functions as well. Land records are needed three times a year to secure crop loans; they are also used for verification and for access to pensions and various other government programs. Technology, through computerized land ownership records, is providing millions of farmers with a measure of security and peace of mind they did not previously have. | |
“I think this is a revolution in land records.”
--G. Satyavathi |  | | Although Bangalore, in Karnataka state, has become an international business hub thanks to a boom in its information technology industry, the rural hinterland surrounding the city remains largely reliant on agriculture. But the information technology revolution is also improving the lives of farmers in the region. A computerized land title system means they are no longer held captive by the greedy village accountants who used to charge them arbitrary fees to access land records. Farmers can now obtain their records in five minutes for a standard fee—and concentrate on their businesses instead of pleading with accountants. “I think this is a revolution in land records,” says G. Satyavathi, Karnataka’s E-governance deputy. |
 | “We are able to get our land deeds in no time.”
--G. Venkatanaraiah | | The days of pleading with local officials for a simple land ownership record for his small farm near Bangalore are over for 40-year-old G. Venkatanaraiah. Before a computerized land ownership system was set up, it could take him a week or more to find and plead with the local officials for an ownership record. Now it takes him less than five minutes. With the document, he hopes to get a loan to buy fertilizer for his farm. |
“They will not take my land away now.”
--M. Ramaiah |  | | For farmer and father of three M. Ramaiah, the paper he holds in his hand has given him a supreme sense of security. Thanks to a new computerized land ownership system, Ramaiah can now easily obtain a certificate of ownership for his small plot near Ittamadu, near Bangalore. Previously, he would have been at the mercy of village accountants, who used to maintain land ownership records and charge a steep price for a certificate. Now he pays a set fee—less than a third of what the village accountants used to charge—and he has peace of mind. “”They will not take my land away now,” he declares. |
Updated May, 2004 |
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