The package, for a single-window transaction, is being worked out by the National Informatics Centre (NIC). It should be available with officials by the beginning of next week.

Says the Revenue and Divisional Commissioner of Delhi Government, S.P. Aggarwal: ``If we need a paper it takes three days. Now with the computers in, I hope we will get it in a few seconds. There would be no scope for mismanagement.'' But, Aggarwal hasn't probably heard of hackers. Neither has the government which fondly hopes the system will force property dealers thriving on land scandals to either get computer-savvy or honest. It even believes computeristation would help Delhiites keep tabs on their land and detect any encroachment that might take place. The only thing that is near certain, however, is that it would be technically impossible to sell commercial, residential, farm or educational land under any other head except for what has been specified in the DDA Master Plan.

In Delhi, there are nine Revenue Deputy Commissioner's offices where land is registered and a number of sub-registrar offices where the papers are processed. Nine main computers would be set up in the main office that will network with the sub-divisional magistrate or sub-registrar's office.

Presently, selling and buying land is a devil's idea of a picnic. The process, on a conservative estimate, takes about a month. And a Delhiite often goes home thinking he has bought land, which someone somewhere might be selling to someone else. Not anymore if Aggarwal's words can be believed.

``This will end all corruption. There will be transparency. The records in the Revenue Department on land run into lakhs. It takes three days at least to find if the land of the said number exists. But with the computers, no one can fool us,'' Aggarwal exclaims.

Once in place the procedure will be simple. After the land is identified, it's data will be immediately available on the computer and the buyer would take home a registration certificate from the Revenue Department. The process should not take more than an hour. ``I have written to the NIC to give us a package for even computerising the sub-registrars' offices so that not a single fact can go missing anywhere,'' says Aggarwal.

Data from the aerial survey of Delhi's unauthorised colonies will also be fed into the computers so no new colonies can be created and registered.