The Delhi Urban Land and Immovable Property Records Bill 2024

What’s in today’s article?

• Why in News?
• Major Impediments in the Urban planning in India
• What is the Current Situation in the National Capital?
• What are the Proposals in the Delhi Urban Land and Immovable Property Records Bill 2024?
• What is the Significance of the Delhi Urban Land and Immovable Property Records Bill 2024?

Why in News?

• The Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry (MoHUA) is working on a law - the Delhi Urban Land and Immovable Property Records Bill 2024,that would bring all urban land and building records in the national capital under a single Authority.

Major Impediments in the Urban planning in India

• According to the NITI Aayog’s ‘Urban Planning Capacity in India’ report, for many major cities accurate and usable maps do not exist.
• The Record of Rights (RoR) in some states are either non-existent or not updated after areas are declared urbanised.
  • This is because Revenue Departments believe that maintaining urban records is the responsibility of the municipality or urban development authority.
• This is a major impediment in the planning processes as well as planning capacity, since the detailed and robust land records are essential for proper urban planning.
• Hence, the spatial plans need to be aligned with land records for the successful execution of the urban planning.

What is the Current Situation in the National Capital?

• According to the Economic Survey of Delhi 2022-23, the National Capital Territory (NCT) sprawls over 1,483 sq km, of which 1,114 sq km is designated as urban.
• Rural land records are maintained under the Delhi Land Reforms Act 1954 and the Punjab Land Revenue Act 1887.
• However, there is currently no urban land and buildings records law or system in Delhi. Also, multiple agencies are responsible for land in Delhi. For instance,
  • The Revenue Department of the Delhi government: It maintains the RoR.
  • The NDMC and the MCD: They maintain the property tax records for their areas.
  • The Land & Development Office (L&DO) under the MoHUA: Maintains land records dating back to the establishment of New Delhi by the British in 1911.
  • The Delhi Development Authority (DDA): It has records for the land acquired by it for development.

What are the Proposals in the Delhi Urban Land and Immovable Property Records Bill 2024?

• Establishment of a single authority:
  • The Delhi Urban Land and Immovable Property Records Authority will frame the guidelines for creating and maintaining urban land records.
  • It will be chaired by the Delhi LG and will include officials from the DDA, MCD, NDMC, Delhi Cantonment Board, the L&DO and Revenue Department as members.
• An urban RoR: The proposed Bill will have provisions for an urban RoR that have the names of all holders, occupants (other than tenants), owners, or mortgagees of the land, or assignees of the rent revenue from it.

What is the Significance of the Delhi Urban Land and Immovable Property Records Bill 2024?

• With no single custodian for the NCT of Delhi, there are no uniform records across various governance and planning typologies, making the process of property title search extremely cumbersome.
• With the enactment of the bill, all notified urban areas within the geographical boundaries of the NCT of Delhi will be covered by the Delhi Urban Land and Immovable Property Records Authority.
  • Since land in Delhi is a central subject under Article 239AA of the Constitution, the proposed law will not fundamentally change who controls land policy in the capital.

Q.1. What is the 69th Constitutional Amendment?

The 69th Amendment Act 1991 accorded special status to Delhi by adding Article 239AA of the Indian Constitution. It put the state of Delhi under the joint control of the lieutenant governor and chief minister in various matters.

Q.2. Who controls land, public order and police in Delhi?

In a 2018 judgment, the SC held that the Delhi LG was bound by the aid and advice of the elected government and Delhi government has control over services except for public order, police and land.

Source:  Bill to create urban land, property records authority for Delhi in works IE