The document discusses land administration practices in Kerala, India. It summarizes innovative practices like the Kerala State Land Bank, which inventoried public lands to professionally manage them. It also discusses the Revenue Land Information System and Common Land Database, which helped automate and bring transparency to land records. Finally, it discusses efforts to tackle landlessness through programs that issue land titles to the landless. Overall, the document outlines Kerala's use of technology and data-driven approaches to modernize land administration systems and tackle land-related issues.

1. Land Revenue Administration and
Land Acquisition
Dr. D Sajith Babu, Nodal Officer,
National Centre for Land Governance
IAS induction Training Programme at IMG, Trivandrum on 16.09.2015

2. INNOVATIVE LAND ADMINISTRATION PRACTICES –
KERALA EXPERIENCE

3. Doctrines in Land Governance
• Doctrine of Eminent Domain
Indianjurisprudenceregardingeminent domaininevitably
traces theconcept backto its roots inGrotius, andjustifies
its usebasedonthepropositionthat all landvests inthe
“sovereign,”whichcanreassert its right overthelandof
its “subjects”at anytime.
• Doctrine of Public Trust
Thepublic authorities shouldact as trustees of natural
resources

4. In two tenure system LAND may be defined
as “ the solid ground on earth primarily
classified based on tenure as Public land
and Private land. Private land refers to the
portion of land conveyable by a deed and
Public land means the land belonging to
Government, used to encourage economic
development, reserved for public use and
for the settlement of the landless”

5. TACKLING ISSUES WITH THE PUBLIC LANDTACKLING ISSUES WITH THE PUBLIC LAND

6. Plight of Public / Government / Poromboke / Tharisu Lands
• Inaccessible / Unreliable / highly tampered records
• Underexploited resources
• Heavily encroached

7. Kerala State Land Bank……..
An attempt to SYSTEMATICALLY INVENTORISESYSTEMATICALLY INVENTORISE all public
lands to PROFESSIONALLYPROFESSIONALLY manage the same in future, in
order to assure RATIONAL USERATIONAL USE of public lands, with the
wholehearted SUPPORT FROM THE PUBLICSUPPORT FROM THE PUBLIC, in the most
TRANSPARENTTRANSPARENT manner.

8. www.kslb.kerala.gov.in
OBJECTIVES …….

14. ADVANTAGES OF THE PROJECT
• With the successful completion of the project the Government and the public would
be in a position to recognize which all are the public lands in the state.
• More and more Government lands could traced out with the peoples' participation
through valuable information from the public through phone messages, complaints
etc.
• The data base is acting as a ready reference for the Government, to plan and
formulate development programmes without going for costly land acquisitions.
• The project ensures People Participatory Eviction Approach to evict the
encroachments on Government lands.
• Centralized control and management of leases through the Lease Alert System [LAS]
as part of the system.
• The Government lands are being managed and monitored in a better and
professional manner.
• The returns from Government lands will be enhanced many fold through better and
professional management in future.
• Timely action against encroachments and time expired leases through alerting
systems.
• This is the first, foremost and even now the only initiative of this kind in the country.

15. • It is the system wherein the entire Government land transaction is subjected to
public scrutiny.
• In this project each and every bit of Government land is being assigned with a 12
digit unique code for the easy retrieval of the data by the users.
• The entire planning and execution of the project has been purely internal and there
are no outside or hired consultants for the project.
• The entire automation process and software in use are Free and Open Source
Software [FOSS] which makes the project financially independent for the future on
account of version changes in the software.
• The entire staff has been trained in the Software internally through the “On the Job
In-house Training Programme” and all are from the department. This makes the
project independent on the Human resource side as well.
• The entire system has been developed and is being sustained purely through
“Internal Resource Mobilization” on account of human resources.
• The entire financial dealings of the project are available in the website for the public
scrutiny on day today basis towards social audit of the project.
• A specialized force PLPF [Public Land protection Force] for the protection of
Government land is being introduced in the Department as part of this initiative.
• For the benefit of the public an Interactive Voice Response System [IVRS] is being
introduced to make the Public Reporting system on encroachment and new cases,
on 24 X 7 basis

16. TACKLING THE PRIVATE LAND ISSUESTACKLING THE PRIVATE LAND ISSUES

17. • Highly tampered manual records
• Non existence of “Rights” granting regulation
• Legislative lacunas – Registration Act, 1908
- Transfer of Registry Rules, 1966
- Encumbrance Certificate
- Kerala Land Reforms Act, 1963
- ST land alienation
- Survey & Boundaries Act, 1961
• Redundant transfer procedures on land –
Document writer, Sub Registrar,
Surveyor, Village Officer etc.

18. REVENUE LAND INFORMATION SYSTEM [ReLIS]
Objective
To ensure automatic updation of land records through online Transfer of
Registry subsequent to deed transactions
Date of launchDate of launch 15.10.201115.10.2011
StatusStatus
20855 online Transfer of Registries and 30678 RoRs have been issued online
now being monitored through http://59.90.102.96/relis/status.php
Future plan
Online payment of basic tax through the introduction of online payment
delivery gateway
Issues
Registration department is yet to introduce the proposed amendment in
Rule 30[A][4] of Registration Rules [Kerala]

19. COMMON LAND DATABASE
VILLAGE
OFFICE O/o The Addl.
Tahsildar
2. PREPARES
APPLICATION
FOR THE LAND
TRANSACTION
1. GETS
BHOOREKHA
Public access
SRO
Akshaya Center
3. Verifies the data entry with TP
number from the common land
database
PartWhole
Online Land
Tax
Payment
Data
access
to
other
depart
ments
Sendstheprocessedapplicaationfor
verificationofSRO
Verifies the data entry with TP number
from the common land database

21. ADVANTAGES OF THE PROJECT
•This ensures equality and justice envisaged in the Constitution
•This ensures transparency in all land transactions.
•This ensures “anytime and anywhere” transaction of lands at Revenue
offices
•This will check transaction of Government lands.
•The land holder can get Bhoorekha [RoR] from any of the Akshaya Common
Service centres in Kerala.
•It curbs the entire corruption associated with land transactions.
•Government will get more income as it will be linked to fair value of land.
•The suspicious land transactions in the sensitive areas would be curbed.
•The Land Reforms Act,1963 can be implemented in a more meaningful
manner.
•The transfer of registry is assured promptly and swiftly on FIFO principles.
•It is a great leap towards assured Citizen Services
•Better credit flow under assured land records.

22. TACKLING THE LANDLESSNESS ISSUETACKLING THE LANDLESSNESS ISSUE

24. CETIFICATE SERVICES UNDER THE e DISTRICT PROJECT
Objective
To ensure issue of digitally signed online certificates within the time limit
prescribed in Citizen Charter / Right To Services Act,2012
Date of state wideDate of state wide
roll outroll out
26.03.201326.03.2013
StatusStatus More than 1.50 crores online certificates have been issued online so far
Future plan
Integrating more databases for online verification at time of issuance of
certificates

25. Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land
Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013
• Consent of 80 per cent landowners required for private projects, 70
per cent for PPP projects and none for government projects
• Social Impact Assessment [SIA] study is mandatory for projects and
sometimes even Environmental Impact Assessment [EIA] study
• Irrigated multi-cropped land cannot be acquired beyond a specified
limit.
• If land acquired under the Act remains unutilized for five years from
taking possession, it must be returned to the original owners or a
land bank.
• The Act of 2013, will apply in case an award has been made five
years or more prior to the commencement of the Act, but the
physical possession of the land has not been taken or
compensation not paid
• The provisions of the Act are also applicable when land is acquired
for public purpose for private companies

26. CONCERNS RAISED ON AMENDMENTS
• Since most acquisitions fall Industrial corridors, Public Private
Partnership projects, Rural Infrastructure, Affordable housing and
Defense categories, this will nullify the safeguards of the 2013 act.
• No obligation on Government to carry out a Social Impact
Assessment [SIA] study
• This is a cosmetic addition taken from the existing SIA process
prescribed under the 2013 act. In effect the government has
instead made a minor addition to mollify the concerns of affected
families
• Nobody is held accountable for delays in utilizing the acquired land
• The definition of ‘compensation paid’ as laid down by the Supreme
Court has been nullified
• The change of term from private company to private entity ensures
that anybody can request the government for acquisition.

27. Dr.D Sajith Babu
National Centre for Land Governance,
Institute of Management in Government,
Government of Kerala,
Trivandrum – 695 038
sajith.nclg@gmail.com
09447271243
Thank you