Difference between revisions of "No Entry (India)"

''No entry'' transactions are informal as they do not go through the State Revenue Department – the authority in charge of all matters pertaining to urban and rural lands at the State level (sub-national), including land expropriation, registration of transactions, determining terms of tenure, documenting title deeds etc. <ref>Banerjee, B. 2002a. 'Security of Tenure in Indian Cities', in Durand-Lasserve, A. and Royston, L. (eds), ''Holding Their Ground: Secure land tenure for the urban poor in developing countries.'' London: Earthscan: 37–58</ref>. Formal land transactions not only involve a notary, but are also approved by the state revenue department. In the case of a ''no entry'' transaction, the vital additional step of being approved by the state revenue department – and the resultant paying of land tax and stamp duty – is not taken. While the notary is a public officer, the ratification of property exchange without the State Revenue Department’s approval and formal registration constitutes an extra-legal act.

''No entry'' transactions are informal as they do not go through the State Revenue Department – the authority in charge of all matters pertaining to urban and rural lands at the State level (sub-national), including land expropriation, registration of transactions, determining terms of tenure, documenting title deeds etc. <ref>Banerjee, B. 2002a. 'Security of Tenure in Indian Cities', in Durand-Lasserve, A. and Royston, L. (eds), ''Holding Their Ground: Secure land tenure for the urban poor in developing countries.'' London: Earthscan: 37–58</ref>. Formal land transactions not only involve a notary, but are also approved by the state revenue department. In the case of a ''no entry'' transaction, the vital additional step of being approved by the state revenue department – and the resultant paying of land tax and stamp duty – is not taken. While the notary is a public officer, the ratification of property exchange without the State Revenue Department’s approval and formal registration constitutes an extra-legal act.

While the ''no entry'' system is specific to Hyderabad, most of the informal systems of land property transfer mentioned above perform similar functions in rural as well as urban contexts in developing countries. In rural contexts, they provide a low-cost means of enabling free-market transactions that brings land to its most productive use <ref>Deininger, K. and Feder, G. 2001. 'Land Institutions and Land Markets', in Gardner, B. L. and Rausser, G. C. (eds). ''Handbook of Agricultural Economics''. Amsterdam: North-Holland: 288–331</ref>. For instance, land that is not being cultivated may be brought under cultivation by the new owners, especially where certain investments are required which would be uneconomical under a short-term lease. These informal mechanisms of transfer may also be recognised by informal lenders, allowing access to capital, where formal systems may be cumbersome or unavailable. Most significantly, these systems are more accessible to a wider set of potential buyers and sellers, providing greater equity in land markets. In urban settings, the issue of access to land is often intimately linked to access to housing or shelter, and associated benefits such as livelihood opportunities, public services and credit <ref>Payne, G. 2002. 'Introduction', in Payne, G. (ed.), ''Land, Rights and Innovation: Improving Tenure Security for the Urban Poor.'' London: ITDG Publishing: 3–22</ref>. In countries like India where one in four city dwellers can be classified as poor, informal systems like ''no entry'' provide access to basic services for a vast number of people.

While the ''no entry'' system is specific to Hyderabad, most of the informal systems of land property transfer mentioned above perform similar functions in rural as well as urban contexts in developing countries. In rural contexts, they provide a low-cost means of enabling free-market transactions that brings land to its most productive use <ref>Deininger, K. and Feder, G. 2001. 'Land Institutions and Land Markets', in Gardner, B. L. and Rausser, G. C. (eds). ''Handbook of Agricultural Economics''. Amsterdam: North-Holland: 288–331</ref>. For instance, land that is not being cultivated may be brought under cultivation by the new owners, especially where certain investments are required which would be uneconomical under a short-term lease. These informal mechanisms of transfer may also be recognised by informal lenders, allowing access to capital, where formal systems may be cumbersome or unavailable. Most significantly, these systems are more accessible to a wider set of potential buyers and sellers, providing greater equity in land markets. In urban settings, the issue of access to land is often intimately linked to access to housing or shelter, and associated benefits such as livelihood opportunities, public services and credit <ref>Payne, G. 2002. 'Introduction', in Payne, G. (ed.), ''Land, Rights and Innovation: Improving Tenure Security for the Urban Poor.'' London: ITDG Publishing: 3–22</ref>. In countries like India where one in four city dwellers can be classified as poor, informal systems like ''no entry'' provide access to basic services for a vast number of people.