Many people across India struggle with linguistic barriers while comprehending land records. To mitigate such inconvenience, the Government of India has decided to translate the ‘Record of Rights’ into 22 different languages.
The availability of the Record of Rights (ROR) in different languages will bring transparency to property transactions. In addition, it will prevent individuals from relying on brokers, lawyers and other officials to understand the particularities of property dealings.
What is a Record of Rights
ROR (Record of Rights), known as Jamabandi, is an extract of land records that contains every intricate detail of landholding. It is a revenue document that shows the legal status of a property or land. In addition, the Record of Rights reflects particularities related to loans availed of by an individual, land occupants and rights of owners.
Several states in India have their own portal for this purpose. For instance, Any ROR is the official land record portal started by the Gujarat Government’s Revenue Department.
ROR is significant documentation that individuals must have during a property transaction. It contains details on the transfer of the rights on land from a landowner. A Record of Rights is a document that contains-
- Name of all individuals who exercised ownership and rights in a said land
- Land encumbrances
- Whether the land is being utilised for agricultural purposes, even details about type of crops (Rabi or Kharif) are mentioned in ROR
- Land measurement
- Location of land
- Nature and limit of individuals’ right over a land
- Information related to charges of attachment as per the order of a civil court or any revenue authorities.
Benefits of Record of Rights
The implementation of ROR (Records of Rights) has made it convenient for property sellers and buyers to access all information related to land without undergoing a tedious documentation process.
Here are the following benefits of using a Record of Rights.
- This revenue document is vital in determining false claims on a particular land.
- Property or landholders have to produce ROR during any court litigations pertaining to properties. It helps them dodge legal turmoil.
- Through the extracts of ROR, one can see information related to the type of land, agricultural aspect, kind of activities carried on a plot of land, etc.
- Individuals must possess ROR (Records of Rights) in order to avail of a loan. A financial institution will scrutinise the legal status and land measurement before deciding on a loan amount. In the absence of ROR, individuals may not receive approval for loan amounts. Even their loan applications can get rejected.
- Even one can go through various land rights classifications, including tenancy rights, leasehold rights, homeowners and more.
- A ROR proves the authenticity of the money earned as rent or revenue from a property.
- With rapid digitisation in all sectors, many states have incorporated digitised Records of Rights. It helps citizens access all land-related information online. In addition, it helps them track all land records and legal status. Online tracking enables individuals to raise an issue in case they encounter any discrepancies in land records.
- An accurate Record of Rights helps conduct hassle-free land assessment and revenue collection.
Registration Process of Land Records
All Indian residents can register their properties or land online by following the steps mentioned below:
Step 1: Firstly, individuals must compute the circle rate of an area where the property they want to register is located. Individuals must note that the circle rate may differ depending on the property type.
Step 2: Individuals need to determine the registration fees and stamp duty of a particular property and then initiate the online payment.
Step 3: Arrange an appointment with the country’s sub-office registrars.
Step 4: Both seller and buyer should duly sign all the property documents before submitting them for registration. When signing, sellers and buyers must be accompanied by two witnesses.
Step 5: For final registration, visit the sub-office registrar and submit the necessary property documents.
Individuals registering their property must have a valid mobile number, as the OTPs sent on it have to be used during identification and validation of their login and submissions.
Documents to Submit During Land Registration Process
Individuals opting for an online registration do not have to undergo tedious documentation. However, they must obtain the e-stamp sheets and make payment for registration costs and stamp tax. Furthermore, they must provide information about their locality, pin code, land ownership and property type.
However, one must keep the following documents ready:
- Proof of identity
- Address proof
- Land tax
- Encumbrance certificate
- Proof of income
- Proof of property ownership
Process to Change Name of Owner in Land Records
Here are the steps that will guide one to amend the owner’s name in the land records:
Step 1: Individuals need to make an affidavit to update the owner’s name in land records. However, they need to ensure that the affidavit is signed by two gazetted officers and a notary.
Step 2: An announcement shall be published in newspaper following the amendment of the owner’s name.
Step 3: A copy of the advertisement must reach the Department of Publication to complete the process of changing ownership.
Step 4: The current land owner must visit the office of the land registry and submit necessary documents related to the change of owner name. On submission, all land records will be updated to the current owner’s name.
After this, competent officials will verify those documents to ensure the authenticity of ownership. Thereafter, the updated owner name will reflect on all land records. A copy of such an amendment will be delivered to the applicant’s address. In some states, individuals can change the owner’s name via an online portal.
In conclusion, language diversity is one of the significant problems individuals face while dealing with land records in India. Moreover, varying language can lead to confusion and scams. In order to prevent such scenarios, the Indian Government has rightly decided to roll out their ambitious ventures of establishing multi-lingual RORs (Records of Rights). It will help citizens escape linguistic barriers while undergoing property dealing and maintain transparency throughout.
