PUNE: Legal status of land parcels will soon be a click of a mouse or a touch away from prospective buyers.
The land records department has started to include data of civil court cases related to plots in the city and rural areas on its website. The process of integration has been going for over a year. Some data has already been linked.
“The work started earlier this year. Land buyers are already using the website to check if there is any litigation on any land parcels. It is an ongoing work and the process is still under way,” said a senior official from the land records department on Friday.
Cases related to property cards within the city survey limits and land-related disputes are being integrated. “Current cases of 2024 have been integrated by NIC (National Informatics Centre) into the website. The work is on to update previous cases,” said the official.
Citizens have to enter the survey number or the 7/12 extract details of a land parcel on the land records department’s website to check its legal status. The site has a display window that opens up to the civil court case status information.
“NIC is assisting in linking the court data with the revenue department’s data. Work is also underway to upgrade the system with old cases and to have a proper area-wise search facility. Overall, it is a humongous task,” said another senior officer from the land records department.
Citizen activist Shrikant Joshi said getting details of land-related legal cases online would help citizens. “If the cases are visible online on the website, it will help prospective buyers to carry out the necessary checks. It will ensure transparency,” he said, stressing on more public awareness regarding the facility.
Several citizens claimed that they were unaware of the initiative. “If the work is going on, the status of how many cases can be seen district-wise should be put up on the website,” one of them said.
The central govt earlier directed states to start linking the legal status of land parcels to reduce dubious transactions. A senior officer from the central govt said easy and transparent registration of land could go a long way in giving boost to the “ease of doing business”.