In a landmark move, the Gujarat State Information Commission (GIC) has directed the state’s Revenue and Panchayat departments to launch a special transparency drive, urging proactive online disclosure of all land allotment records.

The directive, issued by State Information Commissioner Nikhil Bhatt, followed a second appeal filed by Hirabhai Rathod from Jamnagar, who has been struggling since 1966 to obtain complete documents of agricultural land allotted to him. Despite receiving a few papers, the crucial “Chaturdasha no Sketch” (four-side map) remains missing.

The Commission highlighted a disturbing pattern—nearly 40 to 50 percent of second appeals related to the Revenue Department involve missing or inaccessible land allotment records. These records, classified as permanent “A-category” documents, are required to be preserved systematically.

The GIC has recommended creation of a dedicated online portal where certified copies of allotment orders, sanads, and possession receipts can be easily accessed. This, it noted, would ease the struggles of poor families, reduce RTI applications, and promote transparency in schemes such as Santhani, Hakkthi, Haraji, Vinamulya, and Rahatdar.

However, Gujarat’s land governance issues run deeper. The state’s ambitious Digital India Land Records Modernization Programme (DILRMP)—started in 2009—was meant to modernize rural land records through digital resurvey. Instead, it created new disputes.

By August 2018, the state abruptly halted creation of new digital records after covering around 12,000 of 18,501 villages. The government later admitted that 5.28 lakh complaints were filed seeking corrections. Investigations revealed that private survey agencies often reused outdated maps instead of conducting new surveys, violating the 2012 Resurvey Manual.

Adding to the complexity, a Gujarat High Court ruling in 2017 declared that land cannot be allotted merely on the basis of applications. Any such policy, the court said, violates Article 14 of the Constitution (Right to Equality). The judgment mandated that even fixed-price allocations must follow open, transparent procedures—like auctions—to ensure equal opportunity for all.

The situation exposes the cracks in Gujarat’s much-touted e-governance model. While early digital initiatives like e-Dhara successfully streamlined land mutation and RoR processes, the larger digital resurvey project faltered due to weak oversight and lack of archival discipline.

The GIC’s order underscores an urgent need to retrieve missing historical documents, fix digital inaccuracies, and ensure robust transparency. Without such reforms, experts warn, Gujarat’s land records system risks becoming a digital maze of confusion and corruption, leaving millions vulnerable to disputes and eroding public trust in the very foundation of property rights and governance.ો