Decentralization as a Strategy to Scale Fit-for-Purpose Land Administration: An Indian Perspective on Institutional Challenges

Serene Ho, Pranab R. Choudhury, Nivedita Haran and Rebecca Leshinsky
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Serene Ho: School of Science, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC 3001, Australia
Pranab R. Choudhury: NRMC Centre for Land Governance, Bhubaneshwar, Odisha 751003, India
Nivedita Haran: Ente Bhoomi Trust, Thiruvananthapuram 695005, India
Rebecca Leshinsky: School of Property, Construction and Project Management, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC 3001, Australia

Land, 2021, vol. 10, issue 2, 1-18

Abstract: Many countries grapple with the intractable problem of formalizing tenure security. The concept of ‘fit-for-purpose land administration’ (FFPLA) offers a way forward by advocating a shift towards a more flexible, pragmatic and inclusive approach for land rights recording. Inherently, the process and outcome of implementing FFPLA will have significant socio-political ramifications but these have not received much attention in the literature; additionally, few papers have considered this in the context of decentralization, an endorsed strategy for implementing FFPLA. This paper contributes to this gap by critically analyzing three land formalization initiatives in India which have employed flexible recording approaches and where decentralization is used to scale implementation. The cases show how quickly decentralization can kickstart implementation at scale via collaborations with local governing bodies and partnerships with non-state actors. An institutionalist approach highlights ensuing political contests between new and traditional land actors that inhibit political authority, and the challenges of coordinating a network of public and private actors without clear formal collaborative governance structures to ensure democratic outcomes. In doing so, we contribute to governance knowledge around FFPLA implementation so that it is ‘fit-for-people’ and better able to support policies and processes to secure land rights at scale.

Keywords: land administration; decentralization; India; fit-for-purpose; institutions; governance; politics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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