UID may help streamline outdated records

Property holders across India may get a unique identity number, or UID, for their real estate, as a working group set up by the ministry of urban development has suggested doing away with the current system of registration and transfer of property. Such a move is expected to not only streamline and organise India’s outdated land records, but also reduce the burden on courts by enabling faster resolution of property disputes. “The current system of property registration is based on who pays the tax on the land or property,” said an official with the Planning Commission. “When property is transferred, the deed doesn’t define the title and the extent of rights of the owners. This leads to most of the disputes and problems.”
Under the proposed system, the government will insure the property owner, or the one with the title certificate, against a legitimate counter claim of ownership in courts. “Title will be guaranteed by the state government to the holder of the title and any legitimate counter claimant is indemnified against loss by the government,” says the working group report. “Therefore, the onus will be on the government to verify ownership claim while giving the certificate of title guaranteeing ownership of land or property,” the Planning Commission official said. For the common man, it will translate into a certificate of title with a unique pin number, or U-pin, guaranteeing ownership to the property. Although, applying for a certificate of title will be optional under the law, the government plans to make it mandatory for acquiring and transferring property through resale, gift, lease, mortgage and all other forms of transfer.
The U-pin and certificate of title will be backed by a database capturing the location, usage and ownership history of the property. “Today, there are no tools to verify land titles. This move will help people identify title of land they are buying,” says Pradeep Jain, chairman, Parsvnath Developers. Some states like Gujarat and Maharashtra have already started the process. For developers, such a move will aid in reducing transaction costs and help in expediting projects. “It will be a big help for developers as the time taken for due diligence of land will reduce. This will mean time and cost of transaction will come down,” adds Jain. The proposal comes at a time when state governments, farmers and private developers are vying over ownership of land in the face of expanding urbanization.
“If the proposal is cleared, the existing registration, stamp and deed of transaction will not lose relevance, but will have to be mandatorily backed by the certificate of title. More so, if you are transferring your property through sale,” the official said. States will thus have to set up a Land Titling Authority, or LTA, which will undertake surveys of all lands and properties in both urban and rural areas. The LTA will also be responsible for issuing titles, unique identification numbers and maintaining property records.