South Asia

Emergency Public Administration Project, Afghanistan

Afghanistan’s land administration system is in a state of crisis following two decades of conflict. The return of refugees and the concentration of internally displaced persons in Kabul has exacerbated the problem of determining land ownership for restoring property rights. The antiquated land registry in Kabul is inhibiting the re-instatement of property to rightful owners and the allocation of land to new arrivals. The present situation inhibits land market functions and creates a potential bottleneck in access to land for urgently needed urban revitalization and community assistance projects. This climate of uncertainty has the capacity to add fuel to an already explosive environment.

Land Equity International assisted the Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan, through the World Bank, to define emergency remedial action to address the crisis by renovating the Kabul land registry. While this will improve access and ameliorate the present risk of destruction of the valuable records, it will have limited strategic impact unless accompanied by institutional and functional streamlining and development. LEIs strategy is to lay the foundation for the broader national reforms which are essential if land related services, vital to the peace and socio-economic prosperity of Afghanistan, are to be efficiently delivered to all levels of the community.

India Computerisation of Land Records – Building on Karnataka’s Experience

Over the past few decades land records for agricultural land in India have become increasingly dilapidated. For urban and non-agricultural land in rural areas no system clearly sets out rights over land. This uncertainty in rights in land undermines the objectives of good governance and poses a serious threat to social stability and economic development. Governments have invested in the computerisation of land records, but institutional and regulatory constraints have greatly reduced the benefits to be obtained from computerisation. Karnataka has successfully computerised its land records and is now seeking to build on this success and expand the capabilities and coverage of the system. The government has a stated objective for this expansion to move from a deeds registration system to a title registration system.

Land Equity International was contracted to review the system in Karnataka, recommend a five-year plan to build on the experience and capture a broader set of lessons that may benefit other Indian states.