Going Hi-Tech: Railways Uses QR Code In Land Acquisition Notification For Project; Concerns Raised Over Utility In Rural India

In a technology-driven initiative, Indian Railways has introduced QR code in its land acquiring notification for the Haryana Orbital Rail Corridor project to facilitate easy access to land records.

The national transporter has issued a notification for acquiring land, with a QR code, a first-of-its-kind in the Railways, for the project passing through Gurugram.

However, while this innovative move is aimed at offering an option to the affected parties to get easy access to the details of lands, experts have raised concerns whether such a step would serve the purpose, considering that most of the land acquisitions happen in rural areas.

An official concerned in the orbital rail project said the notification was a successive one after detailed notifications were published in local newspapers, when the Railways first expressed its intent to acquire the land for the project and also invited objections.

"The earlier notifications published in newspapers had all the specific details. This notification was issued after the process of hearing objections had been completed. The first notification specifying the intent of acquiring any land will be published in newspapers in full with all details of the land parcels and their owners,” said the official.

Sources said other government agencies including the National Highways Authority of India and the Road Transport Ministry may go for QR codes for notifications to acquire land.

They said this will help people get the full notification on their phone and there would be no requirement to look for the notification here and there.

According to NHAI, "The practical issue is whether it works in rural India. As of now, it may not be appropriate. The question is how many people in villages will download the mobile app and read the QR codes?"