URBAN LAND REFORMS: FINALLY COMING OF AGE?

URBAN LAND REFORMS: FINALLY COMING OF AGE?

Deve Gowda’s rallies about rampant land encroachments dominate the news in Bangalore. Weaving this into an urban poor land-rights issue, he is demanding re-distribution to the slum dwellers in the city. While critics may see this as political opportunism- some allege that he is guilty of the same land-abuse - the government’s acknowledgement of the extent of the scam is staggering: close to 200,000 acres of land encroached around Bangalore, four times the total area of the core city.

Coming on the heels of a High Court ruling striking down the largest housing development of the government itself, and escalating land prices, the response of average citizens is a mix of shock and resignation. However, this response misses a fundamental shift that is occuring: the arrival of urban issues on the formal political stage. Deve Gowda’s actions signal the willingness – and possibly need - of a mainstream, hitherto rural-based politician to acknowledge urban issues. Mumbai and Delhi have seen this for many years, but this isolated phenomenon is now expanding across the country.

There is an emerging market dimension as well: the changed norms for FDI in real estate, with big money ready to come in. India’s real estate sector currently attracts $2 billion in FDI, compared to $40 billion for China. However, many foreign players are concerned about the opacity of our land records and legal uncertainties associated with land title. Without clarity, back-room wheeling-dealing is bound to increase.

Resolution of urban land issues can only happen through the political process. Hence, the heat being generated in Bangalore is good news: it signals change. Until now, the response of the political system has been to take advantage of a broken record-keeping system, a dysfunctional legal process, and a politically-illiterate citizenry bred on a feudal relationship with government. Land “register” not only meant a record but also a ringing cash machine.

While recent developments suggest that the time for change is here, the question is ‘What should we do?’ Unfortunately - granting him the best intentions - Mr Gowda will find it virtually impossible to implement his ideas of re-distributing land to the urban poor, given the facts about urban land in India:

There are no clear records in urban areas, especially after state revenue departments handed over the responsibility to city governments. The British need for land revenues created a fairly strong land records system in rural areas; however, there was no such process in urban areas, nor is there much historical knowledge of urban land records management in India.
We don’t have a system of land title, which guarantees ownership; the sale deed and tax-paid receipts are only documents of presumed title, and have been rejected by the Supreme Court as not counting for legally valid documents of ownership.
Given the small size of land holdings in urban areas, and the transaction frequency, the volume of information to manage is enormous. This is impossible without a technology-based solution, preferably linked to a GIS system.

These land constraints affect many issues: creation of urban infrastructure; protection of environmentally scarce resources; development of sensible city plans; enforcement of land-use and zoning restrictions; utilisation of new urban tools like Transfer-of-Development-Rights (TDRs); optimal generation of property taxes; preparation of mass transit plans, and so on. Despite the merit of and need for these ideas, we first need fundamental changes in how we manage urban land.

What is needed is Urban Land Reforms to create a robust platform for these initiatives. Given the variety of stakeholders affected by and involved in urban issues - citizens, state and local governments, politicians, business houses, real estate developers, NGOs, financial institutions, town planners etc - much debate is required on the scope of these reforms. There are genuine differences between these actors; for example, there are those who suspect moves to create more liquid urban land markets, making it easier for real-estate developers. A minimum consensus on reforms could be on three issues: land records management, land title, and simplified registration of land.

At a deeper level, there is the question about who owns land: do we as a nation support the idea of property rights, or are people only custodians of land? These are driven by a society’s beliefs about the relationship between people and land. In the United States for example, the right to own property was a cornerstone of their Constitution. India has a long and mature history about the relationship between man and land, defined in a different age, before urbanisation and globalisation. Those who understand these nuances need to articulate a modern interpretation of this relationship, and lend their voice to this emerging debate.

A well-structured political process should bridge the gaps between these points of view. The challenge is to ensure that the political space is filled with the right energies. With land, this is especially important, given the nexus that it has with power, patronage and paisa. We can be sure that - unlike other issues like healthcare or education - Urban Land Reforms will encounter more resistance.

Beyond the articulation of an Urban Land Reforms agenda lies the challenge of actual implementation. Once again, this requires democracy and its processes: in our federal system, land is a state and local government subject. Announcements made in New Delhi have little consequence in states and cities without local leadership. This can come from a variety of forces: citizens and markets can create pressure for Urban Land Reforms. Political will is often forged on the anvil of public opinion.

Rather than be put off by the political noises being raised, let us see the democratic opportunity being presented: the coming of age of urban politics in India. And with it, the possibility of appropriate urban policies. At the top of the list should be Urban Land Reforms.

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The author is founder of Janaagraha. He can be reached at ramesh@janaagraha.org