Land Titling Act: Facts Vs Lies

Misinformation and disinformation campaigns have been launched against the Andhra Pradesh Land Titling Act (APLTA). The people of Andhra Pradesh are being misled claiming the Act is anti-people and the state government would take away the land from them. The opposition charged that people will get only photocopies of the transaction under the Act.

Chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has criticized the opposition parties for making it an election issue for political gains and spreading falsehood among the people. 

• Over the past year, 9,58,296 deeds related to the purchase and sale of agricultural lands have been registered, and the documents have been provided to the respective farmer owners
• Additionally, 15,91,814 residential plots have been officially registered and documentation handed over to the beneficiaries. Furthermore, another 1,75,000 beneficiaries have had their ownership of houses under the TIDCO scheme registered, and they have received the relevant documents. The remaining registrations and document handovers will be completed after the current election code period is over.
• Between 2016 and 2019, a total of 2,27,492 documents were issued through the e-Stamping system. However, since 2019, there has been a significant increase, with 60,66,490 documents being issued so far through e-Stamping.

Following the recommendation of the NITI Aayog to implement the Land Titling Act in all states in October 2020, Andhra Pradesh took up the comprehensive resurvey of the land via drones and geo-tagging under Jagannana Saswatha Bhu Hakku Bhu Rakshana scheme. 

Let’s understand what are the lies being told to the public and what is an actual truth about the Land Titling Act:

Claim: Authorities will decide your successors. Cannot go to local courts for justice

This claim has no basis. People who don’t follow the law will make these unfounded claims that authorities will decide who will inherit your property. According to the Section 25(3) of the Land Titling Act, which has not come into effect yet, the Title Registration Officer (TRO) will refer any dispute arising out during the determination of inheritance in the concerned civil court. 

The current Record of Rights (RoR) Act requires applicants to go to court and file a case if there is a dispute over the determination of succession. But under the Land Titling Act, the Title Registration Officer will refer to the concerned civil court. It will also be convenient for the heirs.

Claim: You are helpless if the Land Titling Officer does not recognise your as rightful property owner 

According to the current re-survey, once a farmer's name is included in the official records, they are no longer required to submit any documentation under the Land Title Act. Farmers have a period of 90 days after the notification is issued in their village to file claims or objections regarding the confirmed land ownership data and the names listed in the title register.

If there are no appeals or disputes raised against the names registered within a two-year period, the farmers will be granted Presumptive Title. After that, they will be awarded Conclusive Title to the land. Any order passed by the Title Registration Officer (TRO) can be appealed to the Land Titling Appellate Officer (LTAO). If a farmer is still unsatisfied with the LTAO's orders, they have the option to take the case to the High Court.

Claim: The owners can be jailed for not having proper papers. Jagan can mortgage your place to the bank

These are the words spoken by those who distort laws. Under no circumstances will the owners be put in jail for not having proper documents. The statements have been made with the intention of creating a kind of panic among the people.

Following the instructions from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer of Andhra Pradesh, a case was filed against the accused persons for propagating false, incorrect and unverified allegations against the Land Titling Act through paid IVR calls. The AP Crime Investigation Department (APCID) is investigating it. 
 
The current state government is conducting the resurvey of all land plots in villages after 100 years. As per the Survey and Boundaries Act 1923, the landowner will be informed about the survey through prior notice and the survey will be done in the presence of the landowner. The following notices were given to the pattadar at the time of the survey.

• Notice in Form 14 (Ground Truthing) 
• Notice in Form 33A (Ground Validation)
• Notice in Form 42 (Providing copy of Land Parcel Map or LPM)
• Notice in Form 43 (Section 10(2))

The land resurvey process utilized drone technology for conducting the surveys. Any disputes that arose while determining property boundaries were resolved. Boundary stones were laid using GPS technology to clearly demarcate the boundaries. After finalizing the boundaries through this method, Land Parcel Maps (LPMs) were created. This process has enabled the updating of all revenue records pertaining to land ownership and boundaries. So far, out of the total 17,460 villages in the state, resurveys have been completed in 6,000 villages. The resurvey exercise has helped reduce border land disputes in these 6,000 villages where it has been concluded.

The APLTA will only come into effect after the comprehensive land resurvey process is fully completed across the state. There are apprehensions, especially among people in cities like Amaravati, Visakhapatnam, and Tirupati, that implementation of this Act may expose properties that were forcibly taken away and registered under benami names. 

Generally, the central and state governments enact various laws. If any of these laws cause inconvenience to the people, amendments are proposed to address the concerns. However, it is unprecedented for political parties to include repealing a particular law as a promise in their election manifestos. The opposition parties have made many impractical and unenforceable promises in their manifestos.