Digitization to Strengthen Land Administration: A Case of Nepal
Laxman Pokhrel
Land administration is one of the crucial aspects. Nepal being a land locked country most of the people’s livelihood depends directly or indirectly upon land. Thus, the land administration is most important concern. It’s been a huge challenge for government to make improvements on land administration. Land administration is the process of determining, recording and disseminating information about the ownership, value and use of land. In Nepal, land administration services are very poor and traditionally done. The major problems that we are facing in land administration are complicated procedure, inefficient paper based system, lack of integrated land policy, huge political interference and increasing corruption. People do not know even the workflow and depend upon the agents to accomplish their tasks. For this, they are charged extra and have to bear another financial burden. To overcome these deficiencies Nepal government decides to convert the traditional process into modern digital form. Digitization is very much required to make the land management service efficient and effective. Fast and agile transactions, transparent and ease process, well-disclosed land laws and regulation, accountability and authority are the major strengths of digital land administration system. Some of the district’s land revenue offices have started an online service focusing the transaction of land. In the initial phase of digitization, both hand written and digital service are parallel in place. This initiation has some positive impact in making procedures simple, providing electronic and online service, processing in real time, making the service delivery efficient, increasing the accountability of officials, reducing the political interference and corruptions and making the registration system hassle free. Nepal is yet to be used to with this digital system and it certainly takes much time to be effective. This system has been implemented as a pilot project in some of the offices only. Government must come with a policy to implement this system in every office throughout the country with the entire infrastructure made ready.
Event: Land Governance in an Interconnected World_Annual World Bank Conference on Land and Poverty_2018
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