Proposed infra projects raise demand for old land records

Several proposed infrastructure projects in and around Pune have seen an increase in demand for land records over past years, according to officials

Pune: With several proposed infrastructure projects in and around Pune strengthening the people’s quest for old land records to identify ownership of lands in Pune district, the Pune Archive – which earlier held more than 39,000 sets of old land records – has seen an increase in land records over the year, according to officials. While the Pune Archive had issued over 2,700 certified copies of old land records between April 2022 and March 2023, it has issued over 900 such copies between April and July of this year, alone.

Pune Archive Department at Bund Garden Road has over 39,000 sets of old land records. Several proposed infrastructure projects in and around Pune have seen an increase in demand for land records over past years, according to officials. (SHANKAR NARAYAN/HT)

The Pune Archive, also known as the Peshwe Daftar, earlier held over 39,000 sets of old land records including land records dating back to the British and Maratha era. Each of these sets contains 500 to 1,000 documents, most of which belong to Pune, Ahmednagar, Nashik, Satara, Konkan, Khandesh and parts of Gujarat and Karnataka. The majority of the land records are in English and the Modi script.

There are different types of records including those of land gifted by emperors, land orders, overall land information of the villages and letters exchanged among British officers about land use. The office provides certified copies of old land records to people who demand them at pre-determined rates. These documents are useful for individuals to settle their land disputes while students and researchers also require these documents for their study.

Speaking about the demand, Shaila Jangam, assistant director of the Pune Archive, said, “We have seen an increase in the demand for land records in recent years. Although the demand decreased to some extent during the pandemic, it again increased thereafter. There is a possibility that due to an increase in land prices because of several proposed developments in the region, people are seeking information about their land. It would help them to avoid or solve ownership disputes. Also, it would help in land acquisition for infrastructure projects. As a result, the demand for such records is increasing.”

“Earlier, there was greater demand for land records from individuals whereas in recent years, there is greater demand from religious trusts such as the Waqf Board. Nearly 30% of the current overall demand is from religious trusts,” Jangam said.

Digitisation of land records

After defeating the Marathas in 1818, the Britishers took charge of Shaniwar Wada and all the documents inside it. Upon realising their importance, British officer M Elphinstone secured the documents and handed them to the Deccan Commission. The documents were initially kept in Khajgiwale Wada and later in Nana Fadnavis Wada. A separate building was constructed in 1891 to house these documents across different sections. Considering the historical importance of these documents, the government decided to digitise them to preserve them for long. The government undertook a digitisation programme for the same, however, due to financial and technical limitations, the work slowed down, an official said.