CM unhappy over land administration

Hyderabad, Apr 28: ''Unhappy'' with the land administration system, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy today suggested to delegates at an international symposium to try to get the 'Charminar', a landmark structure in this historical city, registered.

''Getting it registered is not very difficult. You can try this, just for the heck of it. You can get it easily done. That is the system prevailing in the state,'' he told delegates attending an international symposium on ''Contemporary trends in cadastral surveys and land titling''.

''There is a total lack of coordination among the various departments involved in land administration'', he said.

Expressing his displeasure over the progress in the implementation of the pilot land survey in Nizamabad District, he said only 50 per cent of district had been covered after three years and spending Rs 13 crore.

The state government's proposal to extend the pilot project to five more districts had been mired in court cases, he lamented.

adding that courts take their own precious time to settle the matter.

He urged the Centre to support the state government in extending the project, costing Rs 1,500 crore, to the entire state.

Central Land Resources Department Secretary Rita Sinha noted that one per cent of the Gross Domestic Product had been blocked because of lack of clear titles to land holdings. The Centre was keen on taking up resurvey of lands using modern tools to create accurate records of all property in a time and cost-effective manner, she added.

About 100 delegates, comprising representatives of the Union Government, states and experts from the World Bank and other countries, are participating in the symposium to suggest measures to improve the land administration system.

UNI