TerraCIS Technologies Ltd. (Formerly known as IL&FS Technologies Ltd.). | Non-ownership Rights in Urban & Peri-urban Land in India
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Non-ownership Rights in Urban & Peri-urban Land in India

There is a rapidly rising demand for land, for urban or non-agricultural usage, hence, peri-urban areas are located at the receiving end of urbanization, forming tenure hotspots. Peri-urban areas are now rapidly becoming places of consistent changes and activities, due to rapid urbanization and growth in population, since urban centers across India, are set to become the future habitat of a majority of the population. The rural-urban migration, as observed, ends up causing densification of certain areas of the city, creating informal settlements. This highlights the need for more land to cater to housing/food and economic activities associated with urban land. However, since land is a limited resource, this intensified pressure leads to a shortage/deficit and the eventual skyrocketing of land prices, making land access increasingly difficult. Market transaction in India, as per studies, involves more rental transactions than sale transactions. A trend that is projected to continue, due to the wide divide between housing costs and comparative income levels. Studies have shown that, going by the average national income, a person would need almost 100 years to be able to afford an 800 sq. ft. house in urban areas, as per the prevailing rates (even higher than global high-value markets like London, Paris, Tokyo etc.). In rural areas RoRs record tenancies, however, in urban areas, property cards are generally a record of ownership, with the inclusion of lease details being left to the owner’s discretion. Hence, many a times property disputes see an emergence from transactions, other than sales transaction, due to a variety of instruments being used. Property transactions in urban areas are witnessing a significant change, as concepts such as air rights, Transfer of Development Right, Special Economic zones etc. are becoming commonplace. With new legislation that is in favor of FDI and REITs, more changes are expected. Another factor of consideration when it comes to non-ownership rights is the fact that India has a considerable percentage (25% to 50%) of people living in ‘slums’/informal settlements, which generate about 40%-60% of the urban GDP. A percentage of these people have access to use and possession rights, from government bodies/courts, which means access to basic services, without any ownership papers. Hence, it is quite important to analyze property cards, with their focus on ownership and assess if their coverage spectrum is broad enough to cover urban-market transactions and also the associated disputes, if any, that may arise in the future. The land-society relations of every state/region has been fashioned by co-related historical and political economy. The differences between hills states and plain states in terms of landholding and their types, the undertaking of land surveys, recording practices etc. or even regional characteristics, like the level of urbanization, forest area coverage, mining areas, RoRs, record formats etc. reflect in their respective local land-society relations. Hence, there is a pertinent need for land records to be able to comprehensively mirror the social, economic and legal relevance and the on-ground reality of property rights. Thus, the modernization of land records at state-level, keeping in mind the differences among stakeholder states as opposed to a rigid focus on titling, will help in mitigating property-related disputes, as well as accurately assess the current state of land ownership, possession and its uses; further facilitating social and economic development in the future.
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Author: Ashish Raj, Sr. Vice President – Sales and Business Development

Ashish Raj heads the Sales and Business Development at TerraCIS and is responsible for defining sales strategies, new business initiatives, strengthening client relationships, and business partnerships. With expertise in IT Program Management, Sales, Consulting, Project and Account management, he has been instrumental in TerraCIS’s growth from the beginning and has delivered a remarkable year-on-year growth.
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