NEW PROPERTY TITLING SYSTEM FOR DELHI propertylaunch/ Property titling system for an urban system is very essential for better efficiency of the urban management system. This is one of the key mandatory reforms under the JNNURM and all states are committed to implement reforms in property titling systems. The Government of India, Ministry of Urban Development has made this an important milestone in urban reforms and have recommended, based in the report of a task force set up by them, that a system of recording titles of property should be set up by cities. This would have the major benefit of enabling a framework to be created which would allow property titles to be secured from fraud which are common nowadays and also enable financing companies to use the property titles to create healthy mortgages which would speed up the economic development in cities through banking finance by strengthening the legal framework. NEED FOR PROPERTY TITLING Any robust city development in infrastructure and economic growth is possible only if there is safety in recognizing the le gal and transferable rights on a property. This involves two thin gs: one is the creation of a system for recording property rights in urban property and second is to enable easy trading in the rights through an effective registration system. Though there is a system fo r recording rural land titles through khasra/khatauni and girdawa ri, in the urban set up there is no such system. The registration of 2 properties under the registration act is not mandatory and it only provides proof of presumed ownership but is not a conclu sive proof of title. In the absence of any system there have be en instances of duplicate claims to property through forged wills , duplicate power of attorneys, false registrations claiming ownership. There is enormous litigation in respect of proper ty which is stifling the growth of the mortgage market in property. It is also stifling trading in property rights which is legitimate requirement for growth of the urban economy. This artificia lly restricts the availability of land and property in the market and creates an informal and often illegal market which encourages encroachments, land mafia and strong arm tactics to disposs ess rightful owners because today the saying is that “possession is nine tenths of the law”. This situation is untenable in a civilized society . This situation also impacts on the urban planning needs beca use it is difficult to get information about the developments in the informal land and property market. BENEFITS OF GUARANTEED TITLE REFORM Providing clear title through a robust recording system will have multiple benefits. It will reduce litigation dramatically and prevent encroachments. Land will be identified for social developments. Value of properties will go up and larger mor tgage finance will be available for businesses at competitive interest rates. Transactions in land will become simpler, quicker, ac curate and secure. Urban planning will improve considerably, an d 3 reliable cadastral data will be available. Tax collections will go up formidably which will boost government’s investment capacity to create better infrastructure. Credit crunch in property growth will be tackled due to the better value of the collateral offered on account of better titling system. Rajasthan has already introduc ed the Guaranteed Land Title. WHAT DOES TITLE REGISTRATION DO ? A land title guaranteed by the state provides a conclusive proof of title to ownership of property. It provides the land boundaries based on actual ground surveys and certifies it. It reduces scope of litigation and civil disputes. It makes transa ctions easier because it uses an Information Technology platform as provided under the Information Technology Act 2000. Public c an access the record of rights and verify the accuracy of th e data if they intend to transact in the property. A state guaranteed title system is the best and is currently followed in many Europea n Union countries including UK and it places the responsibility on the state to maintain the property records and guarantee the title. This is needed for the people to have faith in the property titl e certification. A privately driven system would not have the required credibility. There is a system of having an initial sur vey to determine the ownership. Then there is system of providing provisional ownership. Finally there is the system of granting property title certificate. There is a time gap between all the transactions to allow for proper scrutiny and settlement of leg al 4 disputes through a tribunal and appellate tribunal. The tribunal system takes the cases out of civil courts and sets up specia l courts which are fully equipped to tackle such cases and the spee d of decisions is faster and more professional. The recommendation made by Government of India is to set up an Authority for Title Registration. It would function under the divisional commissioner since all registrations are currently done by Deputy Commissioner’s jurisdictions. It would involve amendments to the Indian Registration Act 1908 to make registration of title mandatory. It would involve amendments to the Transfer of Property Act 1882 to make verification process for ownership mandatory. It would involve amendment to the India n Contract Act 1872 making all government contracts on property to be registered. It would involve the setting up of a dedicated Indemnity Fund to compensate for wrong titling and orders of tribunal which cannot be implemented due to certain circumstances. THE DELHI SURVEY, REGISTRATION AND RECORDAL OF TITLE OF IMMOVABLE PROPERTIES IN URBAN AREAS ACT 2009 While doing the property tax reforms in MCD in 2002 it was noticed that one of the major lacunae in property market in D elhi is the absence of a proper property titling system. In order to study this the USAID had taken up work through the aegis of Urban Institute Washington to set up a team. This team consisted of 5 Michael Lee (urban land policy specialist); Amitava Basu (Intercontinental Consultants), B N Banerjee (Fox Mandal Little Solicitors); Amit Dalal (PA Consulting Group); Debolina Kundu ( urban development consultant); Meghna Malhotra ( ICMA Sou th Asia); Carol Rabenhorst ( Urban Institute Washington); Anjali Vohra( Khaitan, Jayakar Sud Real Estate Advocates); and Sud hir Vohra ( Consultant). This team studied the existing legal syste m in Delhi and the application of the laws in Delhi namely the Delhi Land Reforms Act 1954, Punjab Land Revenue Act 1887 as applicable to Delhi, the Delhi Apartment Ownership Act and the new bill under consideration, the existing registration system applicable to Delhi. They also conducted a national seminar on the subject of property titling in Delhi in February 2007. They recommended that the existing laws were not capable of bein g amended to enable the objective of the property titling system to be implemented and that a separate legislation would be needed f or Delhi. Based on this recommendation, the World Bank provi ded funding support to select a legal firm Amar Chand Managaldas and Shroff to draft a suitable legislation for Delhi. This firm has already worked and drafted the property titling law for Andh ra Pradesh state which has now become a law. Amarchand Mangaldas and Shroff designated a team of legal experts hea ded by Jatin Aneja which worked closely with the Chief Secretary Delhi and other departments. They studied the reports of Ur ban Institute Washington, and also wrote a document on global be st practices, which was debated by officers of Delhi Governme nt.
Posted on: Thu, 30 Oct 2014 12:17:07 +0000
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