Land is often the matter of disputes. From ownership of tracts of land to their registration and even transfer to new owners, land has its own share of problems that societies and governments have struggled to deal with since decades. Be it after years of land transfer or just a few weeks after a natural disaster, ownership of land becomes a subject of contention as papers to establish ownership fall as a sacrifice to the onslaught of calamities by nature or even negligence by the owners themselves.

Just imagine what happens in times of natural disasters. Calamities ravage the earth and uproot civilizations from their lands. Once the catastrophe subsides, what remain are bare tracts of land staring at the helpless lifeless faces of the deprived masses who need to reestablish their homes and societies. And this is where the disputes begin. In rural areas, where all fences are blown away and bordering walls lay collapsed, it becomes all the more difficult to establish the boundaries of people’s properties. With the property papers damaged and no concrete way to prove ownership over pieces of land, the government also sits clueless on how to go forward. The issues with land ownership also surface when land is sold and purchased between individuals. Sometimes the sellers don’t have confidence of ownership over a land even though they may be carrying the right papers. The buyers are also doubtful if the seller indeed owns the land, even though a sale deed may be in place. This occurs primarily because of the damaged paper records and also fraudulent practices in the land registration process. This is exactly where blockchain comes as a savior.

Blockchain digitizes land ownership

Often the paper records on ownership gets destroyed. Many a times, some malicious land owners try to shift the fences and advance them to encroach on others’ lands. Land registry papers may not carry the exact coordinates of the land that a person owns. Blockchain can digitize the entire land registry process. Aerial mapping of the piece of land can be carried out using drones and the exact coordinates of the perimeter of the land can be traced, before being fed digitally into a database. All stakeholders in land registration process, the government authorities and the neighbors of the land will be notified of the traced and mapped piece of land, through an app on their smartphones.

Once all the stakeholders approve the land mapping, the digital map is added as a block to the distributed ledger and is stored in an immutable fashion with consent from all stakeholders. The stakeholders and decision-makers get notified and digital signatures of the land owners and registration authorities are added to the block. A unique Customer ID is assigned to the land owner.

Using the unique Customer ID, the land owner logs into the online application portal, which can be provided as a mobile app, to submit all documents required for land registry. A smart contract kicks into action the moment all the necessary documents have been authenticated and uploaded successfully. This can also take place through a chat window, like on WhatsApp, where the land owner simply uploads the files and completes the fee payment through in-built payments feature. The smart contract executes and automatically adds all digital documents and land maps to the blockchain network, before notifying the concerned government authorities about the new request for land registration. The government bodies no longer need to ask for hard copies of the necessary documents and there is no scope of delay due to movement of physical files moving across different departments. All departments can access the documents directly from the blockchain network, without any fear of tampering of files by any unscrupulous authority. This eases the process, removes any glitches in payments and gets all approvals done online on-the-go. Moreover, the land owner can check for the status of the application online, to be assured of how far the process has reached and how long tentatively it will take to get the registration done.

Once all approvals are in place, the smart contracts again kick-in to complete the process automatically and deliver the conformation and necessary digital documents to the land owner on the chat window and also append them as blocks in the blockchain network. The owner can then save the files for further reference.

Authentication during land-related transactions

Buyers can be assured of the land ownership details as the blockchain maintains all the records in an immutable fashion and bring information at the disposal on a mobile application or even a messaging app. The prospective buyers will ask the seller about his/her Customer ID. Entering the Customer ID in the application will fetch all details of the land owner and the land he/she owns. The digital map of the land belonging to the seller will also be shown. And in case the seller is not the rightful owner, even that will get cleared through this mechanism. In case the land owner intends to deceitfully sell more of land than what he owns, the buyer will catch the fraud and will save himself from a fraudulent transaction.

This will ensure that the buyer and the seller are on the same page ad are well-aligned in terms of expectations and details of the impending transaction. The buyer will place a request for buying the land, following which the seller will get a notification. Once both parties provide their consent to the transaction sing digital signatures, a smart contract will execute to receive payment from the buyer and store it in a wallet with the government, before automatically initiating the process for land ownership transfer. Once the government authorities approve the transfer of ownership, the payment will be made to the seller and the new documents will be generated in the name of the buyer, thereby registering the land in the new owner’s name. The entire process will be digitally-driven and all necessary details will be added to the blockchain sequence for assured data management and protection.

Immediate dispute resolution with utmost transparency

Blockchain networks can also protect the various stakeholders from any fraudulent activity. In case, a seller tries to sell more than what he/she owns, the digital map created by the seller will be reviewed at the backend and will be compared against the dozens of land records available for that region. In case of any discrepancy and overlap of saleable land with others’ property is found, an alert will be generated and the seller will be notified to rectify the error within a stipulated period of time, beyond which an alert will go to the land owners on whose land the seller is encroaching during sale. This will bring in transparency and collective validation in the process of land sale, as any transaction that involves multiple parties will require authentication by all of them.

Similarly, if the seller happens to sell a part of his/her land, the digital map will automatically divide itself into the required fragments and the two digital maps will be created. On getting digital signatures from both the parties, the smart contracts will initiate the land registry process for both the participants in the transaction. The new land records will be shared with the seller and the buyer, with all documentation done and processes competed, without much of human intervention.

Natural disasters cannot play spoilsport

During natural disasters, the government authorities will find it easier to rehabilitate the societies as thy will know exactly what fraction of land belongs to which person. In case of death of a land owner, the local authorities will have to simply raise a request in the application for the land ownership transfer to the person whose name is mentioned in the will. The entire transfer process shall execute autonomously without much of human intervention and the new owner(s) will be notified by the system, after the new records are added to the blockchain network.

Government authorities can fetch immutable land records from the blockchain network and establish the rightful ownership of land that has been plundered by the natural forces. This will help to rehabilitate the society faster, which will reduce litigation costs for the government and help economy to recover sooner.

Final thoughts

Blockchain will be an instrumental pivot in the area of land registry. It will bring in transparency and efficiency in the land management process and will help build trust in the system. The distributed ledger will ensure decentralization of authority and will help in faster resolution of land-related issues, by taking reference of the immutable digital documents. The use of blockchain in land registry can have huge payoffs for rural communities and remote areas, where land records are not well-maintained and where land-related disputes are rife. Blockchain will be the antidote to these issues waiting to be resolved.