The courts today have lakhs of pending cases of land related litigations. It is also not uncommon to see the news papers with frequent headlines of law and order problems related to land related issues. Existence of land mafias, encroachments etc are directly related to the inadequacies in our land records and information system. Whenever we talk about land information system the first thing that comes to our mind are the land records. I would like to emphasise that a land information system is not limited to the land records alone.
Land is a national asset.
Ironically, it is owned and exploited by individuals or organisations who hold the ownership rights. Yet it remains the responsibility of the state to look after it. Preservation, reclamation and development of land is a national issue which has to be looked at in a holistic manner. The information contained in the land records does not represent the total information about land as an asset or a resource. The august gathering here is well aware of the importance of information about land and its uses.