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Who
is the Sponsor of HimBhoomi – Computerisation of Land Records?
HimBhoomi
has been undertaken by Himachal Pradesh State Government under
the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Computerisation of Land
Records. This scheme is sponsored by Ministry of Rural
Development, Government of India.
Who
implemented HimBhoomi Project?
The
HimBhoomi Computerisation of Land Records in all 110 Tehsils of
HP under HimBhoomi has been implemented by Himachal Revenue
Department. Deputy Commissioners of respective districts have
been implementing HimBhoomi in the field.
The
National Informatics Centre, Himachal Pradesh through its
district officers is helping in the implementing of HimBhoomi
project.
The
National Task Force chaired by Shri M.G.K.Menon had been set up
by the Prime Minister. There was a working group on Information
Technology for masses constituted by this task force. What where
the recommendations of that task force as far as it relates to
land records computerisation.
It is
true that such a working group had been set up. The working
group came up with a deadline of December 2005 for
Computerisation of Land Records in all the states. This perhaps
was done keeping in mind the complexity of the project. However,
in Himachal Pradesh it is expected that all the Tehsils &
sub-Tehsils will be covered by Dec 2006 wherein the Tehsil
centre will be set-up and people will start getting the copy of
RoR/Nakal and also mutations will start taking place as and when
happen basis.
In
addition, the Tehsil centres will be also undertaking HimRis
(Himachal Registration Information System) Project wherein the
deed registration of around 30 different types of deeds would
also be computerized.
The
ePraman(Certificate Issuance System) for issue of 15 different
certificates would be implemented in all the Tehsils to
facilitate the staff to prepare the certificate in time and
neatly on one hand and benefit the people to get the certificate
in very less time once they submit the application and relevant
papers. However, in the next phase the field verification
process too would also be computerized so that people need not
to chase the Patwari for the documents. In addition, the
certificates for which information is obtained from Land
records, same will not be called from the Patwari rather the
certificates would be issued from the database.
Who
has designed the HimBhoomi software?
The
HimBhoomi software has been fully designed & developed in
house by National Informatics Centre (NIC) Himachal Pradesh
State Centre, Ministry of Communication & Information
Technology Government of India.
What
is the technology used in HimBhoomi software?
Microsoft
Visual Basic 6.0 at front-end and SQL Server 2000 at back-end
beside C-DAC GIST-SDK for local language(Hindi) support have
been used for development of HimBhoomi software. The
bio-metric authentification would also be introduced in near
future.
What
is the Hardware Which has been made available in the Tehsils?
The
Tehsil centres are equipped with a latest high end server and
three to four PC Clients depending upon the size of the Tehsil
What
is the online system?
In
Himachal Pradesh, as against the attestation process of mutation
in the Tehsil, the attestation of mutation takes place in the
field that is Patwar circle. So at any point of time, the
HimBhoomi databases are current upto the point of last field
attestation. Instructions have been issued that whenever the
mutation takes place in the field, same would be incorporated in
HimBhoomi at Tehsil centre within a week.
Although
the practice of preparing fresh Jamabandi(RoR) after every five
years is still continuing even after computerisation but
HimBhoomi offers the facility to generate the next Jamabandi any
point of time meaning thereby that all the columns are
up-to-date with respect to number of mutations taken place in
the Jamabandi.
In
Himachal Pradesh manual records have been banned for any use in
the Tehsils where computerisation have started and only
computerized copies are valid for all purposes. However, the
people of HP are free to obtain the Nakal/RoR copy from Tehsil
centre or Patwari concerned depending upon the urgency, nearness
and interest of the owner.
What
is the back up system being maintained in Tehsils?
DAT
drives have been provided in the Tehsils and a very simple
interface for taking backups is the part of the software. CDs
are also being used for taking-up backups besides the automatic
scheduling of database backup is also ensured.
In future
with the setting-up of HimSwan(State Wide Area Network), the
data centres will be set-up at Tehsils and districts which will
host the data of respective Tehsils and sub-divisions.
What
is the strategy of data entry adopted in Himachal Pradesh?
1. The process starts by taking-up the data entry from
Misal-Hakiyat (Jamabandi
prepared during Settlement Operations)
or the last Jamabandi written for the
village. The data entry is
started by first entering the Shajra-Nasb. That is,
each
individual appearing in the Jamabandi is indexed and assigned a
unique
Code, and then the related Jamabandi details are entered
against this Index.
2. After the initial data entry is completed, a printout of the
existing Jamabandi,
including its Shajra Nasb and other reports,
is generated and given to the
concerned Patwari for cross
checking and reporting errors, if any. The Patwari
and then the
Kanungo concerned ensure that the existing Jamabandi is
generated 100% correct, by getting the reported data entry
errors corrected.
They issue then a certificate also to this
effect.
3. Once the existing Jamabandi is generated 100% correct, data
entry from the
Mutation Register for the village is started.
After the Mutation Data entry is
completed, printout of the
Intermediate Next Jamabandi & Shajra Nasb is
generated and
given to the concerned Patwari for checking and reporting
error, if any. After correcting the reported errors, if any, Final Next
Jamabandi
& Shajra-Nasb along with all the related reports
is printed and given to the
concerned Patwari for record.
4. Upon field verification of Jamabandi, the data is ported to
Tehsil for online
entry of mutations and issue of copy/Nakal of
Record of Rights (ROR).
The
whole process if goes smoothly then reduces the job of
generating an average Jamabandi and associated reports to a
period of less than 7 days at the maximum which is very short
when compared to the time of 3-4 months devoted in the
preparation of the record manually.
Which
documents are computerized in Himachal Pradesh?
Genealogical
Table(Shajra Nasb), Records of Rights(Jamabandi),
Intkal(Mutation Register), Khasra Girdawari(Harvest Inspection)
Registers/documents have been computerized beside the host of
other Nakshas(Reports) built into it.
How
was the land records administration requirement captured for
design of HimBhoomi software?
The land
records system/administration followed in Himachal Pradesh is
very complicated but very systematic with many convoluted
linkages among various documents. The prime consideration of
undertaking the computerisation was in line with the Central
Government objective but this was taken slightly differently
wherein a comprehensive Management Information System was
proposed to be designed so that the databases generated out of
the computerisation may be of use not only to the department of
revenue but host of other departments including Judiciary,
Election Commission, Census Department etc.
However,
to design a such a complicated system which not only various
across the districts in Himachal Pradesh but across different
Tehsils within the same district was a main challenge. Also it
was observed that though the manuals prescribe a standardized
way of writing the records but these were seldom adhere with the
result that if there are 3000 Patwaries in the state then there
were 3001 different ways of writing and maintaining the land
records. However, HimBhoomi software has been in position
not only to cover the variations across the regions but also has
been able to enforce the standardization in a manner that is it
is acceptable to all the concerned.
To
capture the requirements of the system, the Software Development
Group from NIC Himachal Pradesh State Centre prepared Software
Requirement Specifications after through study and same were
discussed and approved by a Core Group headed by Financial
Commissioner Revenue. The software development was undertaken in
a piecemeal manner where in the first phase the Shajra Nasb and
Jamabandi was undertaken and after these two got stabilized the
development of software for mutation updation was done and put
to use.
What
were the challenges faced in the computerisation?
Diversity
In Land Record
Though
land records administration in Himachal Pradesh is one of the
best in the country but due to local conditions prevailing in
the state as well due to various reasons the record writing and
record keeping is diverse. Also no revenue officer was in
knowledge of such diversities completely in the state. In the
face of this fact, the software design was a very a difficult
task. However, efforts were made to study the system and then
design it in a manner robust enough so that if any diversity is
not covered in the present version, it should be capable of
being captured in the future.
Difficult
Terminology
The
land records system prevalent in Himachal Pradesh is the one
developed
by Todar Mal, one
of the learned scholars in the court of Great Mughal
Emperor Akbar. The
usage of Urdu and Persian dialect in the land records was
a great challenge for
the software developer as he was the one who had to
devise
a system based on
modern technology for the oldest system in vogue.
Problems of Preparing Computerized Genealogical Table
Though
the Shajra Nasb(Genealogical Table) is prepared in North India
including the states of Haryana and Punjab but the regular and
in time updations take place in Himachal Pradesh only.
This
document maintains the record of different families in the
village. The data of last 10 generations is maintained in the
document with lots of other information in the form of symbols.
For instance the wife is represented with a betel sign whereas
the daughter is shown with a triangle. The details of kids are
maintained in the order of age. Also various characteristics of
an individual such as whether he/she is Nambardar or owner since
Settlement or handicapped are also maintained. Also the caste
and sub-caste of each individual is maintained in the documents
which are used by revenue officials for providing caste
certificate.
To
incorporate this information in the computerized system was also
a major task but has been completed successfully in the
HimBhoomi software.
Problem
in Khatoni Codification & Non-Uniform Approach in Khatoni
Writing.
This
was another trouble area as due to local practices the writing
of khatoni not only differed from one Tehsil to another Tehsil
but from one village to another village. However, after a
through study by the development team, a multi-level
codification has been incorporated in the software which
facilitate not only the entry of khatoni details but in a
uniform and standardized manner.
Problem
in Mutation
In
the HimBhoomi software a mutation process is provided which
allow the changes in such a manner that it does away the textual
entry as well as gets assimilated into the databases. Also
various calculations related to shares, Khasra area division are
ensured by the software.
The
mutation process and its updation in the record is a very
complicated process in Himachal Pradesh. The provision of a
mechanism wherein the mutation entry is incorporated into the
software was real big challenge. However, after carefully
studying and analyzing around 700 mutations details, a mechanism
was involved which is generic enough to handle any type of
mutation. For example, mutation type ‘sale’ informs the type
of mutation but it does not inform anything about the nature of
transaction. The sale may be of single piece of land or share or
complete account. In order to capture such nature of the
transaction, a generic codification (known as sub-mutation
types) has been devised by the software developers which are
able to capture all the details related to the mutations.
Are
any guidelines issued for implementation of project?
The
Government of Himachal Pradesh in close coordination with NIC
Himachal Pradesh State Centre have prepared a Management Manual
for revenue officer which dovetail each aspect related to
computerisation, roles and duties of each associated with the
computerisation, performance reporting etc.
Beside, a
Tehsil operation Manual too has been prepared which informs the
operations of Tehsil centre, process of issuance of Nakal,
handling of cash available in the form of service charges,
reporting mechanism etc.
How
was the data entry done for such a huge number of land records
covering over 21,000 villages?
The
Patwari from the concerned Patwar circle is called to the
district HQ and he sits along with the Data Entry operators and
speaks out the data and also cross checks the same on the
screen.
However,
the problems of non-reporting by the Patwari due to certain
reasons like field inspection of senior officer, roads closers
due to rain or snow fall and other contingencies were also
tackled. At each District HQ a Naib-Tehsildar (Land Records
Computerisation) was designated /appointed who monitored the
deployment and redeployment of the Patwaries and data entry
operators.
Once the
data is entered, the first print out is given for detailed
checking. Once the errors are reported, the same are rectified
then a print out of selected pages where errors were rectified
is given followed by the process of rechecking. This process
goes on till the Patwari is not satisfied and issue a
certificate mentioning that the computerized as well the hand
written Jamabandi.
The data
entry operators were thoroughly trained by Software Development
Group, District Informatics Officer, District Informatics
Associate beside various User Manuals prepared as per ISO
standard are made available for better understanding.
What
is Political Commitment in HimBhoomi Project?
The
commitment from the political bases can be judged by the fact
that most of the Tehsils centres are inaugurated by honorable
Chief Minister, Revenue Minister, Agriculture Minister, and
Member Parliament/Member Legislative Assembly beside various
senior offices. In their speeches the CM is informing the
importance of computerization.
Was
there any Opposition from the Revenue Officials and what is the
response now?
Though
the officials were bit apprehensive about the program but they
were made knowledgeable about the benefits out of
computerisation. They are now rather themselves more excited
about this Programme than anyone else. The time in the
preparation in the record after the mutation incorporation which
used to take 3-4 months with heavy involvement has now come down
to 7 days thereby making available much time available at their
disposal for carrying out other works for which they were under
pressure always in pre-computerisation scenario.
Did
any problem is faced after manual records were banned?
No, as
the design was robust and did not falter, we did not face any
major problems. Further, day to day support to take care of
teething problems ensured quick and easy transition from the
manual system to the computerized system.
What
has been the response of the farmers?
The
response of the farmers has been overwhelming. The
farmers/owners are taking Nakals from the Tehsil centre
immediately for which they had to make visit to Patwar Circle
three four times due to Patwari pre-occupation with other works.
Many cases have come to the notice where earlier the
compensations were not released due non-availability of record.
Now this has become a thing of past.
What
are the general problems being faced in the implementation?
Non-standardization
of land types codes is posing a problem to club the land type
wise data. If a Patwari writes land type as Gair-Mumkin School
then other writes Gair-Mumkin Vidhalaya and similar is the case
with other land types.
The
non-uniform classification of caste & sub-caste is another
problem which is being faced in the implementation of land
records computerisation. The Brahmin(Kholi) and Kholi(Brahmin)
are being treated as separate caste though these are same.
The
software development for a system which involves the local
language is always full of problems and challenges and HimBhoomi
is no exception to these all.
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