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POLICY REVIEW
Purchase/Inheritance governments extend leases/ amount of tenure security,
through informal provide possession certificates and are threatened by natural
transactions to these households. While disasters, disease, and other
they are not included for risks on account of the lack
Type of documents: Unregistered
sale/partition deed accessing housing subsidies, of access to infrastructure,
they are able to access basic and poor living conditions.
An unregistered sale deed can services and infrastructure At best, they possess some
help establish the rights of the on payment of a holding sort of identity proofs
landholder as a semi-formal tax. For the households that (Aadhar/Below Poverty
owner. It is a useful document are connected to municipal Line (BPL) cards) that make
to show the transaction infrastructure and pay the them eligible for government
between the parties and holding tax, the holding subsidies through the public
the nature of possession. tax receipt can serve as a distribution system.
However, it is an imperfect possession/occupancy proof. A process documentation
title and cannot be used in the In Puri, several households is represented in Figure
court of law to claim any legal located on public land have 3 based on the available
right over the land/property. legal water connections land ownership typologies,
Usually, the transaction is provided by the PHEO. interviews with revenue
carried out on an INR 10 Water bills issued by officials and local lawyers for
(USD 0.15) non-judicial stamp government departments acquiring the RoR.
paper. The deed specifies the are also evidentiary proofs
name of buyer and seller, that establish occupancy for Obtaining an RoR would
description of property (plot a given time. The municipal entail a complex process
number, its area, construction tax receipt has the name of requiring anywhere between
details), amount paid by the assesse, ward number and the 6 months to 2 years. From
buyer, etc., but is not registered tax amount paid by the user, the field study, it has been
under the Registration Act, which includes the annual observed that the relationship
1908. charge imposed as holding between the urban poor and
tax, water tax, sanitation tax, the revenue administration is
Occupation of public/ street light tax, and drainage disproportionately unequal.
private land (not in conflict tax. Revenue administration is
with environmental zones/ mostly dealing with de jure
planning reservations) Occupation of land zoned for rights of the land and the
environmental protection/
Type of documents: Possession/ urban poor finds it challenging
Occupancy certificate, holding reserved for other uses to negotiate the maze of
tax receipt Type of document: possession/ legalities. Unlike ULBs where
occupancy certificate, holding Councillors play an important
Occupation implies exercising tax receipts role as a connect between the
physical control of any land municipal administration and
by an individual/household, Slums/informal settlements the communities, revenue
but not having any legitimate that are located on administrations do not have
evidence of conveyance environmentally sensitive/ any such interfaces. The trust
(purchase/inheritance/lease, hazardous land/reserved between the communities
etc.). Most of these households land are considered to be and revenue administration,
are located on government the most vulnerable. Such to a large extent is missing. It
land. Sometimes, local households have the least is perceived that the primary
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