Prioritising Land Information Service Framework (LISF) for stronger e-Mutation service

The government of Bangladesh is aiming for a complete digitisation of its land record management system by 2020.

Primarily, the deputy commissioner's (DC) office at the district level is responsible for delivering land services, and the Assistant Commissioner (popularly known as AC Land) overlooks the mutation process with the help of the Union Land Assistant and other office assistants of Upazila (sub-district) or circle offices, such as Tahsildars.

At the ministry level, record keeping, registration and settlement are overseen by two ministries: The Ministry of Land (MoL) and the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs (MoLJPA). Other ministries are also involved because officials such as AC Land officers are recruited by the Ministry of Public Administration (MoPA).

Creating transparent and easy-to-navigate arrangements between land registration offices, Upazila land office, DC office and other offices offering land related services, can accelerate the service delivery process.

The government's Access to Information (a2i) project has been working to design an integrated land records management system called Land Information Service Framework (LISF). The latter would bring all relevant ministries of land management and administration together to boost internal communication and coordination under a single digital dashboard system.

Due to the delay in launching LISF, a2i designed and introduced an electronic or "e-mutation" service. The e-Mutation service, after several rounds of pilot tests, started its journey on February 2017 and by the end of November 2018, around 310 Upazilas (out of 484) and 2,714 union land offices (out of 4,554) had introduced this digital service.

The new research evidence from Copenhagen Consensus and BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD), BRAC University shows that at present, there is still no positive return from e-Mutation investment. This is because of the low outreach of e-Mutation.

If e-Mutation is scaled up across all Upazila offices, new research evidence suggests a return of Tk 6 for each taka spent. Adding the spill-over effects toward economic growth suggests a phenomenal return of Tk 619 of benefits for every taka spent.

The first Bangladesh Priorities Eminent Panel ranked land records digitisation as a top priority because electronic records can make transfers simpler, reduce corruption and promote good governance in the economic sectors. Implementation of e-Mutation will increase the security of property rights, which will boost investments and make Bangladesh's economy grow even faster than what is projected.

Implementation of e-Mutation has eliminated rural citizens dependency on middlemen, also saving them from the hassle of visiting land offices which are far away. All necessary documents are scanned and submitted online by applicants while court fees payment and application for mutation are being done through Union Digital Centres (UDCs) in many cases.

Under the manual process, service delivery recipients were unaware of their application status. SMS notification and tracking number under the e-Mutation system is helping service delivery seekers to remain informed about their application stage.

It is encouraging that the government has committed to implementing e-Mutation across all Upazilas by this year. The latest Budget FY2019-20 has prioritised implementation of digitised land records management system as it has specifically stated: Necessary budget allocation will be made for online delivery of reports, e-mutation and e-settlement activities.

Promisingly, the government continues to build upon the momentum that has been generated by e-Mutation. However, e-Mutation alone cannot ensure complete transparency of the land services. There are still loopholes that allow officials to extort extra money from service recipients.

Although the current e-mutation service eases the process of applying because applicants do not need to visit land offices, they still need to visit the land office to submit photocopies of the relevant documents and the true copy of the deed.

The Tahshildars are still extorting money from claimants as they are verifying for possession. If the land office can verify the deed through an online system, this will save time and minimise hassles experienced by citizens seeking land mutation service.

Our political economy analysis, based on interviews with Cabinet Division and a2i officials, highlighted that benefits from e-Mutation would be partial and short-lived, if all ministries and their offices are not brought under a common framework. Success of implementing e-Mutation service depends on the holistic approach of digitising the backward linked services (i.e., land registration, inheritance certificate, and digital map etc.).

The government should prioritise LISF in the Eighth Five Year Plan to address weaknesses of the e-Mutation service and using it as a means to fight corruption in one of the most corrupted sectors of the economy.

Hasanuzzaman is Outreach Manager for Bangladesh Priorities, Bjorn Lomborg is President at Copenhagen Consensus Center.