Lucknow — Last year, Ram Prasad, a small farmer in eastern Uttar Pradesh, walked into the local registry office only to learn that the land he had tilled for decades no longer belonged to him. Unknown to him, a group of men had already “sold” the property using forged documents and an altered Aadhaar identity. The discovery set off a legal battle that, even months later, shows little sign of resolution.
Stories like Prasad’s are alarmingly common in Uttar Pradesh, where land fraud has long thrived in the shadows of bureaucracy. Now, the state government is trying to draw a line. In a sweeping reform aimed at curbing forgery and fraud, it has made mobile verification through a one-time password (OTP) mandatory for every buyer and seller involved in land transactions.
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The move represents a sharp departure from a system where forged documents, duplicate identities, and manipulated records often allowed entire plots to change hands under false pretenses.
How the Fraud Worked
Fraudulent groups—often operating within the same family—could generate entire sets of counterfeit documents, from birth certificates to ration cards, to establish a fabricated identity. In some cases, genuine Aadhaar cards were tampered with, biometric data replaced, and the forgeries slipped unnoticed through the registration process. By the time the deal was sealed, it was nearly impossible to determine the rightful owner. These loopholes fueled a shadow economy worth crores of rupees.
What Changes Under the New System
- Officials insist that the new policy is more than a technical safeguard; it is an attempt to restore credibility to land dealings.
- Mobile verification for both parties: Buyers and sellers must now authenticate their identities through OTPs sent to their registered mobile numbers.
- Village code and land record details: For agricultural land, the gram code and khasra-khatauni numbers must be entered.
- Mandatory PAN card checks: PAN details will be verified through the NSDL portal.
- Curbing fake identities: The system is particularly crucial in districts notorious for forged land records.
- Prevention of duplication: Repeated use of the same PAN, Aadhaar, or fabricated names will now be flagged.
Wider Implications
Land disputes and fraudulent transfers have long been among Uttar Pradesh’s most persistent governance challenges. For citizens, the consequences often meant years of litigation or sudden dispossession. For the state’s economy, the lack of trust in land records discouraged investment and undermined rural stability.
By inserting digital safeguards into one of India’s most opaque systems, the government is betting on transparency and accountability. If implemented effectively, the reform could transform the real estate market, creating an environment where ownership is no longer negotiable and forged papers can no longer steal land.
It is, in essence, an effort to rewrite the rules of one of India’s most fraud-prone sectors: the sale and purchase of land.
