Can blockchain solve land record problems?

Abstract

While blockchain could ensure the integrity and indisputability of future changes, it cannot resolve the differences that exist today. It has been more than a decade since the ambitious project to digitize land records across the country, called Digital India Land Records Modernization Programme or DILRMP, was launched. The project aimed to bring India’s land records to the level seen in countries like the UK, where information about the land, its ownership, and usage is kept in easy-to-access central repositories with real-time updates. However, a recent assessment of the project’s impact in three states suggests that we will not be getting there anytime soon (goo.gl/tbz1EX). There is no doubt that the problem is daunting. As many as two-thirds of civil cases pending in Indian courts deal with land related disputes, most of which revolve around establishing ownership. The existing legal framework, based on the system of “presumptive ownership", lends itself to litigation as land and property undergo several mutations over generations that are not always captured on public records. Moreover, data related to a specific parcel of land is stored in silo’ed government departments, and in formats that vary substantially from one state to another. Access to these records is time- and cost-intensive, as they involve frequent visits and bribes to government agents. Read more at: https://www.livemint.com/Opinion/t60KeJCjKuEkzU9hEC01GI/Can-blockchain-solve-land-record-problems.html