Policy Reform for Agricultural Transformation October 20201 February 2021 LOCALIZING DIGITAL LAND ADMINISTRATION IN CUSTOMARY TENURE REGIMES TO SECURE INDIVIDUAL TENURE INTERVENTION BY RNBA IN THE HILLS OF MANIPUR Context Interventions Lessons  Land tenure in North East India is  Documented and transparent evidence The Rongmei Naga Baptist Association governed under customary laws with of land rights can reduce conflicts in (RNBA), an NGO network, with support adequate autonomy and protection from NR Management Consultants -Centre customary tenure landscapes. under the Indian Constitution. for Land Governance (NRMC-CLG) piloted  A fit for purpose land administration  Most land in the hill areas remains a community mapping exercise in the solution can help village councils to un-surveyed and lacks land records. Manipur Hills. The project trained local develop their own digital land Moreover land relations remain youth to use a mobile phone linked to a administration system quickly patriarchal, with poor recognition of differential global positioning system document land tenure in the women’s land rights. (DGPS) to map and document long-term un-surveyed hill regions. land use rights with concurrence from local  Land conflicts within communities and communities resulting in legitimate village  Scaling up and sustaining mapping and as a result of development institutions issuing Land Tenure land rights documentation across the interventions are intensifying in the Certificates with joint title (including Manipur Hill districts, however, requires absence of documented land rights; women’s names), spatial details, and political participation of higher tribal land use changes from traditional documentation of customary norms. The institutions, such as the ADC and Hill shifting cultivation to long-term uses, process involved local and customary Area Committee (HAC), as well as like horticulture and paddy terraces, institutions and was shared with state-level champions within the State also call for tenure security and actors, including members of autonomous administration. documentation to incentivize district councils (ADC), clan leaders, and investments and access to the Government officials. entitlements. 2 Image Credit: Navin Amang Introduction Northeast India1 exemplifies unique The hills and plains in Northeast India are Land issues in in the hills4 of Manipur, customary land governance regimes that characterized by different laws governing inhabited by indigenous communities, are differ from the rest of India. To preserve the property rights. As in most other parts of the characterized by a lack of cadastral tradition of self-governance of the tribal com- country, in the plains of the Northeast, surveying, mapping, and land records; munities, the Sixth (VI) Schedule2 was incor- individual rights over land holdings are gender and equity concerns in customary porated into the Constitution of India. Along transferable, and buying and selling of such tenure systems; an increasing trend of with Schedule VI, special constitutional rights are generally not restricted. However, large-scale transfer of community land to the provisions viz. Article 371 A, C, G and H, in the hill areas, inhabited mostly by tribal wealthy and outsiders by the Chiefs in many grant considerable autonomy to the tribal populations, individual rights over land and areas; and the high cost of dispute communities of the region. No act of land transfers are subject to restrictions. In resolution in the absence of formal land Parliament shall affect the customary law or the hill areas, there are also two different records, particularly for inter-community and procedures governing the ownership and tenure systems: (a) community ownership of inter-village land conflicts. With transfer of land in these States without the land in areas where shifting cultivation is still modernisation and development decision of the State Assembly with a practiced, where households enjoy user interventions increasingly reaching across resolution. Schedule VI also provides for the rights to land allocated to them by a the region, a process of land privatization establishment of autonomous district traditional authority and (b) individual has begun in the hill areas. This trend is councils (ADCs)3 to protect the rights of ownership of land, which is transferable only changing customary land relations, with tribal populations. within members of the local tribal instances of land being appropriated by community. Chiefs and powerful members of the clans. 1 The north eastern region constitutes about 8 percent of India's size with approximately 40 million of the total population of India (Census 2011). This region has a significant tribal population. During the British era, Tribal areas were classified as “excluded” and “Partially Excluded” under the Government of India Act 1935. 2 The Sixth Schedule under Article 244 (2) of the Constitution relates to those areas in the States of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram which are declared as “tribal areas” and provides for District or Regional Autonomous Councils (ADC) for such areas with having wide ranging legislative, judicial and executive powers around all types of land except for reserve forests. These councils are given power to make law, inter alia, for (a) the allotment, occupation or use, or the setting apart, of land, other than reserve forest, for agriculture or grazing or for residential or other non-agricultural or any other purpose likely to promote the interests of the inhabitants of any village or town only except the compulsory acqui- sition of any land for public purposes by the Government of the State; (b) the management of any forest not being a reserved forest; (c) the regulation of the practice of jhum or other forms of shifting cultivation; (d) the inheritance of property. ” 3 The Sixth Schedule makes provision that schedule 6 tribal areas will be autonomous districts and be governed by Autonomous District Councils. The District Council and the Region- al Council under the Sixth Schedule have power to make laws, possibility on the various legislative subjects. 4 Practices of community ownership of land and forests have historically evolved in interaction with local systems of hill village settlements, land uses and livelihoods. Local tradition- al customary and community tenures vary across the villages and tribes, while also differing the way they recognize gender relations, interact with other communities and clans; interface with land uses and requirements/demands of development related formalities. 3 At the same time, the patriarchal customary The network’s engagement in Natural characterized mostly by un-surveyed land governance structures in many communities Resources Management (NRM) and natural and hence any kind of land record or continue to discriminate against women’s resource-based livelihoods activities in the documents or maps, as it was resisted by land ownership and participation in land context of changing customary tenure the tribal leaders due to their perception that governance. The customary system of land regimes led to its realization of the this would threaten customary land tenure in governance in these areas—which is based importance of supporting customary land the hill areas. There is a popular perception on un-codified customary norms, traditional/ rights and land governance. In 2011, the that formal land laws and surveys will not ocular measurements, verbal/local rights RNBA network started working directly on only erode the traditional polity but also recognition, and village-based dispute land issues6. Since then, the RNBA has marginalise tribal peoples and alienate them resolution—is struggling to cope with the been engaging with local communities, from their ownership and possession of the increasing aspirations, livelihoods needs, village authorities/chiefs, clan and church land7 (Kipgen, 2018). As such, all the tribal and disputes fuelled by economic leaders, other civil society organizations, groups follow their own customary, development. The lack of land records has and government authorities to improve the traditional land use and management also been identified as a barrier to the land tenure security of indigenous poor systems in the hills, and implementation of extension of institutional credit in the hill households, particularly in the Manipur hills, the Manipur Land Revenue and Land economies of the region and, therefore, the with a focus on strengthening women’s land Reform Act (MLR&LR), 1960 is largely region’s economic development. The rights, while also piloting the use of modern limited to the valleys. As these hill areas non-transferability of holding rights renders mapping technology to develop village remain underdeveloped compared to the customary land unsuitable as collateral for registries of household land tenure valley lands, one of the prevailing the purpose of securing institutional credit to certificates. development assumptions is that the lack of land holders (Agarwal, 1987). documentation of land rights in the hill Only 10 percent of the state’s geographical areas has limited economic development in The Rongmei Naga Baptist Association area has been covered by a cadastral these areas. (RNBA)5 consists of 6 NGO partners survey, mostly in the plains and some parts working in 6 districts of Manipur. of the hills. The hill districts remain Image Credit: Rural Aid Services (RAS) 5 The RNBA (https://www.rnba.in) is a church-based organization. Development & Relief Department is the social wing of Rongmei Naga Baptist Association (RNBA) working with partners NGOs in capacity building, fund raising and mainstreaming development in North Eastern states of India. RNBA is working with 6 partner NGOs on thematic issues like sustainable natural resources management and livelihood, Food Security, Women Empowerment, Engagement with Youth, Renewable Energy and education. In this document, “RNBA” denotes the partnership which includes 6 partner NGOs, working together to further community based natural resources management and livelihoods, with support of Bread for the World, Germany (https://www.brot -fuer-die-welt.de/en/bread-for-the-world/) 6 In 2011, RNBA started working directly on land issues through engagement with local communities, village authorities/chiefs, clan and church leaders, civil society and government authorities to improve the land tenure security of indigenous poor households. The activities earlier included (1) Village level mapping of land use, land rights: Village level land use and land right maps have been prepared through participatory mapping process with the use of GPS and GIS technology (2) Documentation of trends in land transfer in project villages (3) Consultation with Clan leaders and Village Authorities on Land rights and (4) Networking with other NGO and civil society at large around land rights in Manipur 4 The distinct land use and management systems and diverse enforcement mechanisms, as well as the lack of codification of rules and norms, is considered by many social scientists as the main reasons of conflict among different ethnic communities (Kipgen, 2013). Land related conflicts have been increasing over the last decade, mostly related to bounda- ries between villages or individuals. In the absence of land records, most of these conflicts remain unresolved despite significant investments of time and money in different customary, political, and formal judicial dispute resolution platforms, including Civil Courts, Under Ground Courts8, and Apex Clan courts. Land conflicts are estimated to affect at least one-third of hill villages (pers comm)9. With development projects increasing in the hill areas, contestation over compensation claims due to land acquisition are also leading to increasing conflicts between chief/ clan leaders and villagers. In the absence of the land records, compensation is usually paid to the chief on behalf of the community and not to individuals, and these funds are not always shared equitably (Bezbaruah, 2017). Image Credit: Navin Amang Although customary laws and land tenure However, women’s roles in social and (Punitha et al. 2013). The total area under practices vary widely across ethnic groups political affairs are regulated by patriarchaljhum reduced from 85,220 ha in 2005-06 to and even from village to village in the traditional customs and norms that make 47,163 ha in 2008-09 (GoM 2015). The Manipur Hills, there are entrenched gender women peripheral in the political power10 agricultural land use doubled in area, and the inequities in many customary laws related to built-up area registered a five-fold increase structure of the society viz. Village Council11 land. This is particularly relevant to that governs customary land rights (Panmei, during the period 1989-2016 in the state, inheritance, where the first or last sons are 2015). Women’s roles and land rights within while the built-up and agricultural land above typically favoured, and daughters are families also fall within the patriarchal, 800 m altitude increased by 20 percent and discriminated against (Kadeikeimi , 2017). patrilineal system. 15 percent, respectively, during this period For example, Naga society is patrilineal, with (Sharma, 2018). This change in land use has absolute male ascendency (Hudson, 2007). Over the last decade, the dependency on also impacted the local land tenure system. As per Naga and Kuki customary laws, jhum (shifting cultivation), which had been the These new land uses require longer-term prevalent in the Manipur hills, women do not local traditional land use and food investments, as well as access to public ser- have rights to own or inherit land production system, has been declining. While vices entitlements for inputs and subsidies, (Chowdhry, 2009). Customary laws the land under jhum has declined, the land which has led to demand for governing land tenure are mostly silent on area under horticulture, terraced land, and formal documentation to record land rights. women’s land rights (WLR) in general. infrastructure projects12 has increased 7 The Manipur Land Reform and Land Revenue Act, 1960 is extended to the whole valley but applies only to a negligible portion of the hill area. Over the years, the state government of Manipur has attempted to pass several land laws with certain amendments and the recent one being the New Land Use Policy, 2014. Each time the state govern- ment attempts to do so it reinstates ethnic polarisation and intensified conflicts within the state. The introduction of any legislation such as land tenure in the hill areas is seen with suspicion and considers being destructive to tribal land ownership system based on traditional customary laws. 8 This is an extra-legal practice attributed to insurgent groups, who are also widely referred as under -ground groups. These groups are aligned as per ethnic identity and are often involved in arbitration. 9 As shared by community leaders in a state level workshop organized by RNBA Monindra, Village Development Committee Secretary from the village Mutum Yangbi, Bishnupur District, Manipur. 10 Women cannot be member or chief of the village council. 11 The Council plays a very important role as the highest authority in the village and life revolved round the decisions taken by the council. The Naga Village Councils carry out the administrative and judicial work, which includes regulation of land. 12 Build-up area of Imphal city, capital of Manipur, had increased from 22.07 sq.km in 1970 to 74.16 sq.km in 2015 while agriculture areas shrank from 54.18 sq.km to 14.26 sq.km during this period. 5 Among villagers, demand for long-term land customary tenure and the community/village These documents were usually descriptive tenure over the same piece of land has in- role in land governance. texts and often lacked reference to the creased, in contrast to the short-term and location, extent, and type of land, as well as In response to this demand for increased shifting land tenure characterized by shifting the terms and conditions. Still, anecdotal individual tenure security, and in the absence cultivation. There has thus been an increase evidence suggests that even simple textual of legal provision for formal land records in in the area of individually held land and the land records issued by customary authorities customary lands, there have been instances landless population and a decline in commu- can help farmers access government of village chiefs issuing handwritten or typed nity held lands (Maithani, 2005). These trends agricultural entitlements and compensation in documents endorsing the ownership/ warrant increased security of tenure for indi- the case of land acquisition (Box 1). possession of an individual or household over vidual land to meet the minimum developmen- a piece of land, based on their request, for tal aspirations of the specific purposes viz. accessing entitlements. community without undermining the spirit of CASE STUDY: A Land Document enhances access to not only farm entitlements, but also to compensation The limited applicability of the Manipur Land Reforms Act allows the customary regime to manage land issues at the community level. Nearly 15 years ago, the farmers of a Kuki village, Phaitol (one of the project villages of the RNBA Network), had approached the National Rubber Board for purchasing rubber saplings at a subsidized rate. The National Rubber Board asked the farmers to provide land possession/ ownership certificates recommended by the village Chief to access the rubber saplings. In response to the farmers Image Credit: Rural Aid Services (RAS) approaching for the same, the village Chief had issued land recommendation certificates to all the 80 households, who then started rubber farming. This example demonstrates how a simple recommendation letter acted as proof of land rights, allowing the farmers to access entitlements from a government agriculture scheme. When the railway construction started during the year 2013-2014 in the village, the construction and land acquisition damaged nine (9) rubber farms of nine households. Under the chieftan regime, compensation is usually allocated directly to the Chief, who in many instances does not share it with the villagers. However, as the affected families in this case had recommendation certificates from the chief issued earlier for establishing their rubber plantations, they approached the railway authorities with their certificates, and the railway authorities delivered the compensation directly to all affected households. This shows how land documentation can help farmers benefit from better access to not only government schemes, but also compensation when their land is acquired. Box 1 (Bezbaruah, 2017 and Personal Communication with RNBA partners) 6 Objective In line with the changing economic context undermining the village customary land governance, the RNBA partnered with and increasing community aspirations institutions and basic tenets of local tenure the NRMC13 Centre for Land Governance towards individual tenure, there has also regimes. There was also an emergent need (CLG)14 in 2017 to pilot community-led land been a growing receptiveness of customary to respond to the global trend towards rights mapping. and religious authorities to consider gender equity and sustainable development. provisioning some form of enhanced With an aim to respond these needs, and individual tenure security without drawing upon its past engagements around Institutional Arrangement The engagement around community-led mapping takes place at three levels. At the state level, there is a technology and knowledge partnership between the RNBA- Network and NRMC-CLG, along with a geospatial information system (GIS) firm, Geolysis, which designed a hardware and software system for producing land tenure certificates that integrates local tenure realities and builds on a participatory information collection and validation process. The partners also created an interface with state-level actors, including government officials, NGO leaders, and ADC leaders, through consultations at the state level. At the partner NGO level15, team members and village-volunteers (a man and a woman) were trained in the community survey process and interfaced with district and block level officials, the ADC, and village authorities, informing them about the process and where possible involving them in the land certification process. At the village level, the village authority led the community mapping process, assisted by the trained NGO team members and village youth. There were also several rounds of Figure 1. Community led mapping process followed in the Manipur Hills village meetings for consensus building on the survey process and to build understand- ing to ensure free prior informed consent, as well as to improve women’s land rights. The decision on the land to be surveyed was also agreed on at this level. 13 The NR Management Consultants India Private Limited (NRMC) is for profit organization headquartered at New Delhi, India works around range of specialist areas like rural development, livelihoods, women empowerment, forestry, education, skill development, water and sanitation, financial inclusion and climate change, focussing on the poor and marginalised population. www.nrmc.co 14 Center for Land Governance located at Bhubaneswar (India), is a unit within NRMC, involved in research, advocacy, policy analysis and capacity building of stakeholders associ- ated with land rights, urban and rural tenure governance, gender, forest rights, livelihoods, agriculture and sustainable development. www.centerforland.org 15 One partner NGO works in 5-6 villages under this project; mapping was piloted in one such village with every partner. 7 Community-led mapping of village partner NGO. These youth received a two- boundaries to the youth volunteers (Figure customary land tenure and day training and piloting exercise led by CLG 3). documentation: RNBA through its partners -NRMC. Youth were trained on the set up The customary tenure regimes of indigenous raised the land rights awareness of individu- and use of the mapping device (Android communities in the state vary in the way als without hindering the customary ethos of devices) and survey forms (Figure 2). While they determine eligibility, duration, land use, the communities. The process flow household and parcel information were inheritance, transfer, and other tenurial (Figure 1) was developed through collected using the free, open source Kobo relations between the people and land, and participatory consultation as the steps to Collect Application17 on smartphones and these needed to be specifically reflected in effectively map the local tenure situation. tablets, parcel mapping was completed us- the proposed land document to avoid ing a Differential Global Positioning System A user-friendly mapping application privatization of land resources (while (DGPS)18 device (antenna) attached to the developed by CLG-Geolysis was used to ensuring limited individualization) and smartphone as the rover with a fixed base implement a participatory and keeping the principles of the customary station device mounted temporarily in the comprehensive mapping process for the tenure regime intact. This motivation led to village during the survey. development of intermediate land records wider consultations by the RNBA partners (Customary Land Tenure Certificates) in 5 Trained village youth could complete the with community and clan leaders, hill villages16. This process mapped mapping and surveying process in their government officials, and civil society long-term land tenure, viz. land under target villages in a 3-month period organisations (CSOs) around the best way permanent/long-term land use, including considering the remoteness, seasonality of to document customary land tenure, leading women’s land rights, and the boundaries of farming, and cultural activities and to the development of community-specific the community lands and villages. accessibility. Household participation in the Land Tenure Certificates (LTCs) to mapping process was high, and, in most document customary tenure rights in a Village-level parcel mapping was carried out cases, women participated in the mapping locally adapted way. Village authorities and by the village youth with support of the process, including by showing the households agreed to a village-level registry Figure 2 Training of youth on DGPS mapping Image Credit: Navin Amang 16 The communities in the villages are from the ethnic groups viz. Kuki, Rongmei Naga, Mhar, Zeme Naga and Meitei. 17 KoBoToolbox is a is free and open source suite of tools for field data collection. 18 A Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) is an enhancement to the Global Positioning System (GPS) which provides improved location accuracy, in the range of opera- tions of each system, from the 15-meter nominal GPS accuracy to about 1-3 cm 8 system with provision of land tenure prioritized for women landholders and for certificates (LTC) as evidence of individual long-term land uses viz. fruit plantations, land tenure to help landholders access credit terraces, and agroforestry. Subsequent and public services entitlements. The LTCs improvements in the LTC, as suggested by were accordingly designed based on the local stakeholders, include the addition of at customary terms and conditions as identified least two witnesses along with the village by the communities and using a template to chief and landholder to enhance its collect the required information, including legitimacy; the development of a Household gender of the landholders, names of both Code and Parcel Code system; the spouses (woman’s name listed first), recording of the current land use and local location of the parcel (identified using names of the land sites/blocks; and the coordinates and satellite images), the identification and geo-referencing of all information of neighbouring landowners, and parcels with reference to common extent of the area. LTC delivery was geo-stations in the village. Figure 3 Woman Land Owner mapping her land with trained youth Image Credit: Navin Amang; RNBA 9 Scale (coverage) / Implementation status In 2019, the RNBA with its partner NGOs expanding this mapping initiative to 10 authorities to obtain their endorsement for completed community-led mapping of land districts across Manipur and Nagaland. using forest lands on long term possession tenure in 5 villages across 5 Districts in to regenerate and cultivate economic wild In just one year since the issuing of the Manipur. More than 111 households were species for food and medicine. LTCs, the land rights holders have started surveyed, and 145 Land tenure certificates consolidating land uses19. Most of them are were prepared and distributed by the partner continuing to enrich and diversify the NGOs and trained village youth under the existing horticultural plantations and guidance of the Village Authority, with the homestead agroforestry systems. Some consent of the village communities and with farmers have used the certificate to benefit technological support from RNBA and from having new varieties of paddy NRMC-CLG. Following the issuance of the demonstrated on their land by the Central first set of land tenure certificates in 2019, Agriculture University, Imphal. Moreover, as the tribal community has requested an indirect result of the increased land additional assistance for mapping their tenure awareness created by this program, agricultural parcels and homestead lands. some women self-help groups have also It is expected that there is the potential for successfully negotiated with the village Challenges Processing of the maps and certificates is a mapping offline was not a problem, the has piloted this community-led mapping time-intensive process, and cleaning and transfer of data from remote locations with initiative through donor support and processing the data required external GIS poor internet connections was not always interaction with the VC in a limited number of expertise. Building local capacity (e.g. of easy. villages, as well as some consultations with RNBA team members or local tech- the ADC and other stakeholders, scaling up Ensuring that the LTC are accepted as entrepreneurs) for data processing and this initiative will require additional legitimate tenure documentation not only by hardware/software support and formalizing investment of resources and the formal customary institutions, but also financial and institutional linkages between these involvement of these local Government government departments (viz. Agriculture, institutions and village level organizations institutions. Horticulture etc.) in the hill districts requires (viz. Village Council and partner NGOs endorsement and political buy-in from working locally) will be critical to expand and specialized institutions, such as the sustain the initiative. Autonomous District Council and the Hill The poor internet connectivity of the targeted Area Committee, which consists of members communities also posed challenges. While of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) from the the differential GPS (DGPS) devices were hill areas. Scaling up land rights mapping used to collect the mapping data and store it and local digital land administration also in their external storage, the data needed to requires institutionalization of these tasks at be extracted/sent in online mode for the Village Council (VC) level with due processing. Thus, while conducting the capacity building. While the RNBA network 19 As per telephonic interviews with the RNBA NGO partners in August 2020; due to the COVID pandemic, quantitative ground level data could not be collected. 10 Lessons Learnt either through mobile GPS or with simple external DGPS antennae. In the absence of 4. Scaling up mapping and formal laws providing for the recording of land rights documentation in customary land rights, a simple yet informal 1. Documented and the Manipur Hill districts will document like the LTC together with GIS transparent evidence of land require the political maps recognized by the community rights can reduce conflicts in participation of higher-level authorities could be sufficient to provide customary tenure tribal governance increased tenure security and enhance landscapes viz the Hill institutions, like the ADC and access to public entitlements and land districts of Manipur. HAC, as well as champions compensation for the hill tribes without compromising the local customary norms within the State and authorities. The tenure recording administration. process can be customized based on the “Everyone’s forefather is right” – in the customary practices of the respective absence of a codified/documented land law communities without altering the spirit of Scaling up and formalising this mapping or a land document clearly showing the their rules. process to build village registries and issue boundary and extent of a land parcel, LTCs across the un-surveyed areas of the communities and individuals with conflicting state will require the greater involvement of claims both commonly cite the oral histories 3. While a DGPS can provide the ADCs while building consensus among of their forefathers as evidence of their rights better accuracy, it is difficult the Hill Area Committees and CSOs in the in a land dispute. This has led to increasing to operate in the Hills; hill districts on the viability and relevance of conflicts over land in the hill districts of alternative low-cost this approach. It may take time and Manipur. By contrast, the Land Tenure technology options, such as dedicated communication campaigns to Certificate provides documentary evidence mobile phone-based mapping overcome long-held local fears that record- of land rights recognized by the community, applications, may be more ing land rights will necessarily lead to the including a parcel map, that can be used to appropriate to the local demise of customary tenure and the loss of resolve future disputes. topography and technical customary authorities’ power. Still, this pilot suggests that supporting customary capacity. authorities to map and record existing customary land rights based on the existing customary norms and institutions, with state 2. A fit for purpose land The use of a DGPS mapping device, on the government officials providing umbrella administration solution can one hand, provided higher accuracy and support to the village authorities, could help help village councils locally seamless mapping in areas characterized by improve land administration in the hill manage digital land poor internet connectivity and dense canopy districts of the Manipur (and potentially other administration and can be cover. On the other hand, it was difficult for areas governed under customary tenure used to quickly document the village youth surveyors to operate them regimes) while preserving unique customary land tenure in the in these remote conditions in the absence of tenure systems and building customary un-surveyed regions regular field-level technical support from an authorities’ capacity. governed under customary external partner. The field operation regimes. involves setting up a base station and coordination with the rover and requires sufficient battery life for their continuous communication, which was difficult for a new Accuracy is not a major concern in the Hill operator to manage effectively alone while areas, as most of the parcel and plot sizes piloting in a village. The DGPS application are relatively large, and field boundaries are also remains complex, as the base station not always clearly demarcated. Therefore, and rover data have to be transferred for an incremental approach - adopting a Fit for processing to provide accurate locational Purpose (FFP) land administration data. Regardless of the mapping technology model to support village authorities to used, it is important to develop systems for issue simple land documentation and enhancing local access and control over the establish village land registries aligning mapping system. with the customary tenure regime can be a solution for such areas. Simple and open-source land mapping applications that are easy to use and customisable can support customary land tenure mapping, 11 References Agarwal A.K. (1987). Economic Problems Kipgen Ngamjahao (2018), Land Laws, Shifting cultivation in North East India: So- and Planning in North-East India, Sterling Ownership and Tribal Identity: The Manipur cial dimension, cross cultural reflection and Publishers Private Limited, New Delhi. Experience In book: Marginalities in India strategies for improvement. Indian Journal DOI: 10.1007/978-981-10-5215-6_9 of Agricultural Sciences 88 (6): 811–9 Bezbaruah, M.P (2017). 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ABOUT THE DISCUSSION NOTE SERIES This note is part of the South Asia Agriculture and Rural Growth Discussion Note Series, which seeks to disseminate operational learnings and implementation experiences from rural, agriculture, and food systems programs in South Asia. It is based on findings from the Land Policy Reform for Agricultural Transformation in India Study, carried out under the India Agriculture and Rural Development Advisory Services and Analytical Program. Authors: Pranab Ranjan Choudhury & Navin Kumar Amang Series editor: Mercedes Stickler Publication Design & Illustrations: Navin Kumar Amang Acknowledgements: We appreciate the overall technical guidance provided by Mercedes Stickler, Task Team Leader, and the constructive com- ments received from Gayatri Acharya, Manivannan Pathy, Mridula Singh, and Samik Sundar Das. We also express our sincere gratitude to Dimgong Rongmei and RNBA team for project level information. Disclaimer: The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this note are entirely those of the authors and should not be attributed in any manner to the World Bank, to its affiliated organizations, or to members of its Board of Executive Directors or the countries they represent.