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The Computerisation of Land Records project was initiated
in 1992 with assistance from BITS Sweden and UNDP at the behest of the
Royal Government of Bhutan to computerise the national cadastral land
records. By the end of 1993 a database and land transfer system was developed
and went into operation. In 1996 a continuation to the computerisation
project by a term of three years was granted by Sida.
In 1999 the last three years phase of the computerisation
and decentralisation plan together with a program
for digital archiving of the land records was granted from Sida. With
effect from April 2000,
Survey of Bhutan was reorganised to the Department
of Survey and Land Records (DSLR). Swedesurvey has been the implementing
consultant throughout
the project period advising the client on organisational-,
management-, system development- and technical issues.
"From measuring
cans and oxen to modern cadastre: An evolution
of the Bhutanese cadastre"
By Mr Dorji Tshering, Head of Cadastral Information
Division, Department of Survey and Land Records (DSLR). Project Director,
DSLR-Swedesurvey Cadastral Project (1994 -2002).
1. Introduction
The origin of the term 'cadastre' is debatable, and
has been defined in many ways –and today there are as many definitions
of the term cadastre as there are experts. However,
cadastre has taken on a much wider meaning today
to include such aspects as land register, land
tax, land registration, cadastral survey, etc. An
acceptable definition of modern cadastre could
perhaps be simplified as:
'Methodically arranged public inventory of data about
properties depicting - legal rights, size, value,
nature, etc and complemented by large scale maps
of parcels with unique parcel identifier'
Further, cadastre can classified into three broad
groups depending upon the purpose:
- FISCAL CADASTRE
- concerns only with taxation
- LEGAL CADASTRE
- legality of ownership and precise survey
- MULTIPURPOSE CADASTRE
- legal, fiscal, community based information base, spatial planning,
valuation, general land administration tool, etc and maps need
to be on a geodetic
This paper will attempt to relate how the Bhutanese
cadastre evolved over the last century from one form of cadastre to the
next, and will step through the various stages of transformations that
it has seen over the years. The paper will not delve into the legal and
administrative issues on the processes of land conveyance but be confined
to the content, quality and use of the data.
In this context five major milestones segment the
historical trajectory of the Bhutanese land recording
system:
- Marthram Chem 1919
- Ashi Tashi Thram 1950-57 (Trashigang)
- Acre Thram 1964
- New Thram 1986
- Computerized Thram 1993
2. MARTHRAM CHEM
 The earliest semblance to organised
documentation of the land record for the country goes back to the 17th
century, when
the God King Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyel instituted
the Marthram Chem – a
written inventory of landholdings in the country.
The Marthram Chem exist in various forms such as
books, scrolls and loose sheets and is basically a document containing
information on all the landholdings in a certain administrative division.
These documents are conspicuous by the red stamp that authenticated the
record – thus the name Marthram – Red Seal.
The data registered in the Martham was very comprehensive
and practical for the purpose for which it was conceived. Totally devoid
of the knowledge about the international systems of measurement, the size
of a land holding was indicated by the amount of seeds 'soen' that
could be sown broadcast in a given area. The standard gauge for seeds
was a container called 'dre' and the area was quantified in
terms of 'soendre'. The names of the parcels, description
of the boundaries and or count of terraces amply provided the identification
and locational address of the parcels. This proved to be very effective
in defining the extent of land holding and also provided the logical foundation
for customary ownership.
In terms of unit of measurement used today, 20 sondres
are approximately equal to an acre. From our observations it can be seen
that the margin of error could go up to10 to 15 percent depending upon
who is doing the sowing, and also on the type of terrain, etc.
The most significant piece of data that was recorded
was the quantity of produce from each individual parcel. This formed the
basis for assessment of land tax. To the authorities this piece of information
was by far the most vital as their basic interest was centred upon tax
collection. Though the quality of the data as an accurate base for tax
assessment is questionable it was a very practical approach given the
absence of alternate know how. This was a fiscal 'cadastre' in
every sense.
Despite the fact that the switch from 'soendres' to the FPS
unit of 'acre' was made more than three decades ago, you will
find that most landowners in the rural west still refer to area of land
by their original preferred unit of quantification. You can still buy
rice in units of 'dre' from the Sunday market and land is
still sold in units of 'soendres'.
The major shortcomings of this record wsa that it
had no indexing mechanism and thus is very difficult to search for information.
Given the format of the register it was practically impossible to update.
3. ASHI TASHI THRAM
Between 1950 and 1957 an exercise was started in
Trashigang by Ashi Tashi to revise the old records (marthram chem). All
the records of landholding were converted to 'langdos' as
the unit of area.
A 'langdo' is defined as the area that can be ploughed
by a pair of oxen in a day and our observations
today give us the equation of "3 langdos of chhuzhing or 4 langdos of
kamzhing" to an "acre".
The 'Langdo' is still very much alive in the eastern part
of the country today.
The Ashi Tashi Thram was also an attempt to improve
the land taxation system and was not very concerned with the legality
of ownership. Therefore this too was a fiscal cadastre in all essence.
4.
ACRE THRAM
 The government made a major decision in the early
1964 to do away with the 'Soendre' and 'Langdo'.
This initiative was largely taken in order to reform the land taxation
system by converting the land records into a more realistic and tangible
form for tax assessment. The taxes payable in kind till then were to be
levied in cash.
The chain survey was carried out to provide a more
tangible base for tax assessment. This involved considerable physical
work in very adverse and hostile terrain. Each and every parcel was identified
and its area systematically entered in the Thram in units of 'acres'.
While the exercise was thorough in the sense that all taxable parcels
were recorded it was not comprehensive. No maps were made and no measurements
of any form were recorded other the area.
While this technique of survey was reasonably accurate
in the flatter valleys, it was prone to error when it came to irregular
boundaries, rough, sloping and thickly vegetated parcels. Often the technology
proved futile in the thickly overgrown subtropical tseri's. However,
the quality of the data during this survey was compromised more by the
fact that landowners were able to influence the surveyors rather than
the shortcomings of the methodology itself.
The most important outcome of this exercise was in
giving the Thram a new look. The format of the data took on a very definitive
form as it introduced the 'Thram Number' – the unique
identifier (with some exceptions) for a land holding. All the other data
fields such as land name, land use, area, tax, etc. were recorded in a
tabular form. It was the first land register of the country.
This Thram though compiled by the Ministry of Finance
for basically fiscal intentions has now become the legal Thram with the
enactment of the Land Act in 1979. Most Dzongkhags currently hold this
Thram as the legal base for land title pending the compilation of the
new ones based on the cadastral survey.
5. THRAM SAR (New Thram)
 It was not very long before the inaccuracy in the
Acre Thram became a national concern. In 1980 the government decided to
call for a fresh set of cadastral survey this time using a more modern
method of surveying and mapping. The plane table survey was introduced.
The survey involves using self-reducing alidades for measurement of distances
and parcels boundaries. A well-distributed network of control points connected
to the national geodetic frame provides the necessary base geographic
reference for the survey.
This survey was started from Paro in 1980 and the
coverage of the whole country was achieved in 1996 with Ha being the last
Dzongkhag.
The cadastral survey was carried out on either of
the two scales –1:5000 and 1:2500 depending on the size and concentration
of land parcels in the Dzongkhags under survey. The 1:5000 sheet cover
an area of 2km X 3 km and the 1:2500 covers an area of 1km x 1.5km. All
the plots are numbered uniquely within the sheet, and the sheets are labeled
following a standard index that has been developed for the country. And
areas of parcels are computed in acres. A lot of other cultural and topographic
information is also depicted in the map.
The format of the New Thram is identical to the Acre
Thram with one addition. A direct map reference of
the plot is entered in the register. The cadastral
map on its own merit has become indispensable in
constraining encroachments, resolving boundary disputes,
relocating lost boundaries, expropriation of land,
and greatly enhancing the security of land title.
The relative accuracy of the measurements should
be within the limit of 0 .65m and 1.25m for 1:2500
and 1:5000m respectively.
So far the New Thram has been compiled for only 5
Dzongkhags and the rest is expected to soon follow.
The major drawback of this new Thram is that all
the records are in the analogue form and thus suffers
from the inherent problems associated with it. The
increasing backlog of transactions also became a
big concern
6. Computerized THRAM
 Despite the enhancement in accuracy of the land records
data achieved via the plane table survey, the management
of the data was still very slow and arduous. Volumes
of Thrams had to be handled every day, and miniscule
parcels located on the maps, eventually wearing away
the documents. Therefore, there was a clear need
to safeguard the documents as well as to make the
information searches more efficient by automating
the processes involved.
Thus a computerization initiative was taken up in
1993. Through this initiative the land registers
were computerized and the cadastral maps digitized.
A land registration interface was also developed
to automate the land registration process and further
a browser interface was developed which integrated
the map and thram data for viewing purposes. Today
for those districts that have been computerized,
sharing and accessing data has been immensely simplified
and the risk of destroying original maps and records
avoided. Tax computations, generation of statistical
information, etc were simplified.
 Today we have at least 80 % of the country's
cadastre data in the digital form. And in a couple
of years we will have acquired the full coverage
of the country.
With the implementation of the computerized thram
some very significant benefits both direct and implicit
have been realized such as:
Improve security of ownership
Reduce land litigation
Improve land conveyance
Accurate basis of land taxation
Improve storage & handling of Records
Improved mapping
7. The Future - Multipurpose Cadastre
The computerization of land records was initially
conceived as a dedicated system for land registration.
However, even as we strive to complete the digitalization
of all land records data and the creation of new
Thram, our vision is directed towards the expansion
of our system into a multipurpose environment. Our
ultimate goal is to be able to derive the optimal
benefit from the data that has been collected for
over more than two decades. We are aware that the
scope of utility is only limited by our imagination.
The multipurpose cadastre is a concept, which is
very much in practice in the developed countries.
It takes the land registration system beyond its
dedicated application into the realm of non-traditional
use and users. It believes in sharing and integrating
data with other data sets and sources.
The Bhutanese land register integrated with the cadastral
maps provide information on owner, parcel boundaries,
villages, houses, names of places, landuse, communication,
irrigation and information on other utilities. And
most of all the scale is large enough to be used
for most spatial based applications.
Some of the immediate applications could be with
regard to the following:
- Environmental – assisting the forest department
in monitoring and controlling encroachments into
forest or government land.
- Physical planning - expropriation for different purposes,
utilities planning, etc
- Basis for statistical planning – all forms
of statistics on land holdings, landuse, etc
- Land use Planning - land use maps, statistics
- Socio-economic studies –The land parcel data
linked with productivity indicators and census data
can be used to generate a host of reports for planners. & decision
makers.
- Overlay and analysis
Ola Wennerby
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