Property Laws and Property Practices in India
Centre For Social And Economic Progress (CSEP)

SVAMITVA: A Socio-Legal Analysis
Centre For Social And Economic Progress (CSEP)

Land of a Billion S.2 Ep. 10: How Climate Change Can be Fought With Secure Property Rights

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Mapping Indian Land Laws (MILL) Launch Webinar | Landlawsofindia.org is now Live!
The MILL website is the first-ever interactive, exploratory, online archive of land laws in India, and includes officially authenticated copies of all originally enacted central laws, and state laws for a geographically representative sample of eight states, namely, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Meghalaya, and Punjab. The MILL website also features analysis of the laws across 31 major categories, on 27 parameters. The English summaries of all the laws run into 900 pages!
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Launch of the NCAER-Land Records and Services Index 2021
The N-LRSI assesses the extent of digitization of land records and the quality of these records in all states and union territories of India. In 2021, almost all States/Union Territories have shown an improvement in their efforts to digitize land records compared to the previous year. Madhya Pradesh has emerged as the top performer for the second year in a row, followed by West Bengal, Odisha, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.
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Paper Discussion- When Land Comes in the Way: India’s Connectivity Infrastructure in Nepal
This paper, co-authored by Dr. Constantino Xavier and Riya Sinha from CSEP, examines two in-depth case studies on Indian-funded infrastructure projects in Nepal and surveys the institutional impediments and expertise deficiencies that cause delays in the process of land acquisition.
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Improving the quality of judicial data
The eCourts project, launched in 2007 under the Ministry of Law and Justice, aims to integrate technology with the judicial system. However, an NIPFP study shows that the framework as it exists currently is in dire need of Improvement. In this roundtable discussion, participants talk about the institutional reforms and technological solutions that would be necessary for improving the quality of the eCourts data.
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Land Title Insurance in India
Land in India holds a significant share in the total asset value of Indian households. However, the poor quality of land title records results in excessive litigation, property disputes, and cases of fraud.
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Property Laws and Property Practices in India
Land and property has been governed by the Indian state in rather conflicting ways in the past. While the first amendments to the Indian Constitution were purportedly to enable the State to redistribute land more equitably, this was followed by land acquisition that displaced Adivasis, Dalits and other vulnerable groups for developmental projects.
SVAMITVA: A Socio-Legal Analysis
The Survey of Villages and Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas (SVAMITVA), is a Central Government scheme, currently underway in 6 Indian states to provide property rights to rural homeowners residing in Abadi areas, set aside by gram panchayats for residential purposes.
What Drives Media Reporting?
Media plays an important role in informing and shaping public opinion around major issues. Media, thus, has the ability to impact large-scale outcomes through its reportage. This, then, begs the question: how does the media decide which issues to raise?
Can Property Rights Improve Access to Toilets for the Urban Poor? Evidence from India
Approximately one in six urban residents in India lives in a slum, according to the Census of India (2011). The residents of slums are not only economically deprived, they fare worse on both mortality and morbidity indicators as compared to their non-slum neighbours as well as their rural counterparts (Mberu et al, 2016). They are … Continue reading Can Property Rights Improve Access to Toilets for the Urban Poor? Evidence from India →
Inheritance rights of transgender persons in India
This paper studies the inheritance rights of transgender persons in India. Using commercial databases (e.g., SCC and Manupatra), it examines the legal framework for inheritance and looks at all court decisions since 1950 that mention the term transgender. Inheritance laws are based on a binary notion of gender. They do not envisage transgender persons or … Continue reading Inheritance rights of transgender persons in India →
Characterising land and property related litigation at the Delhi High Court
There are three common conjectures regarding land and property related litigation in India. First, it forms a large proportion of the caseload of Indian courts. Second, the quality of property records is to blame for the large volume and length of the litigation. Third, the caseload is compounded due to the complexity created by the … Continue reading Characterising land and property related litigation at the Delhi High Court →
NCAER Land Records and Services Index (N-LRSI) 2021
The Land Records and Services Index, published by the National Council of Applied Economic Research, assesses the extent of digitization of land records and the quality of these records
The Design and Implementation of the KALIA Scheme in Odisha – a Case Study
The KALIA scheme is unique as it provides a pathway to include those who do not possess formal land records (women, sharecroppers, tenant farmers, landless agricultural households) in addition to the landholding farmers. The KALIA experience therefore offers lessons for other states and the central government on making farmer income support schemes inclusive.
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Why PMAY-U fails to address India’s intrinsic housing problems
At a recent event, Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave away keys to seventy five thousand beneficiaries of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana — Urban (PMAY-U) in Uttar Pradesh. Though it is a welcome and much needed move, the overall pace of delivery under PMAY-U has been rather slow. As of October 11, 2021, just around 50% of the 114 lakh sanctioned houses have been completed. In the process, ₹97,000 crore has already been incurred.
A Protest In West Bihar Shows How Un-surveyed Land Leaves Residents Vulnerable
On May 30, 2021, as India reeled under the second wave of the pandemic, a team of surveyors from Bihar’s revenue department landed up in the western town of Chhapra. At a street near the city municipality building, where the state government has proposed a new flyover, the officials measured the land where shops and homes would be demolished to make way for the construction.
How the Model Tenancy Act can benefit homeowners and tenants
As the Model Act has been circulated by the central government amongst the states, it is yet to be seen what changes are incorporated by the latter to suit the local context. While the Act is a much-needed reform for India’s housing sector, one hopes that states use this opportunity to unlock the economic value of vacant housing and increase access to good quality housing, for all demographics.
With design changes, Svamitva scheme can be a game changer
By providing a Record of Rights (RoRs) to village household owners in inhabited rural areas, it attempts to create accurate land and property records, which can be pivotal in reducing property-related disputes and facilitating monetisation of rural residential assets for credit and other financial services.
Gaining from SVAMITVA- Survey of Villages and Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas
The traditionally inhabited portions of rural India have largely remained unsurveyed—except for Odisha and Karnataka, to a certain degree—since colonial times.
Bringing gender equality in the Hindu Succession Act: An overdue reform
One element of the gender problem in India is the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 (HSA). This law governs intestate succession for Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs (i.e. 80% of Indian citizens), and discriminates against women.