I hoped that with the Congress coming back to power, the country’s land revenue system which has been handcuffed to history could now be transformed, and provide a solid foundation on which the vast edifice of administration could stand, safe, secure and virtually immune to challenge. However absolutely nothing happened. This is in spite of a letter in July 2005 written to you by Mrs. Sonia Gandhi, in her capacity as the chairperson of the National Advisory Council. Here are some extracts from that letter:

—A very large percentage of the people in India live in the rural areas and derive livelihoods, wholly or partially, from land. The compilation and updation of land records is, therefore, a particularly significant measure to instil a sense of security in the farming community and to encourage investments for higher land productivity, especially in the establishment of clear titles to land. Economical access of rural people to land records would be of all-round benefit to the farmers, including easier credit, quicker land conversions and lesser litigation.

— A scheme for conversion of presumptive titles to land into conclusive titles may be introduced as an integral part of the new centrally sponsored scheme. The records can then be thrown open in the public domain by computerising and Web-enabling them to facilitate anyone wanting to register a complaint or draw the attention of the department to discrepancies in the records. The draft record of rights prepared for final updation may be made open for public inspection and also made available electronically through the information dissemination centres.

... contd.