In yet another first move in the country, the government has managed to pass the Urban Land (Certification of Titles) Bills 2016 in the state assembly.

It means the state residents living in urban areas, which are governed by the municipalities or state development authorities, can seek a certificate of ownership of their lands by paying a nominal fee to the state government.

The state government will set up an authority, akin to transport authorities which issue driving license and fitness certificate. The authority will be headed by an Indian Administrative Service Officer. It will seek all the documents from the landowners, and will verify it against records held by the state.

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The authority will first issue a provisional certificate, for which the state will not stand guarantee. If there are no objections or dispute arises, the authority will issue a certificate and a map to the owner other land or property with state guarantee.

Currently, it is kept voluntary for the owners to apply for this certificate. The state government has kept the application fee of 0.5% of the land rate determined by a district level committee to encourage more people to join this new scheme.

Through the Bill the state government has given itself the power to enter into any property or premise for the purpose of survey by giving its owner a prior notice.

Experts believe that this Bill will give a clear title to the owner and will reduce litigations in the courts. This is seen as one of the key steps towards land reforms and has become the first state to introduce in the country.

Since the Vasundhara Raje-led Bharatiya Janata Party took charge two years ago, the state has undertaken a series of labour and industry reforms. It has also opened many sector for public-private partnership, earning mixed response from residents, activists and industrialists.