New Delhi: Delhi may have several online govt services, but a World Bank assessment has exposed gaps in some of the capital’s most basic systems — from property records and registration to construction approvals and water-quality monitoring.A review meeting chaired by the chief secretary last month found zero or partial scores on several indicators under the World Bank Group’s Business Ready (B-READY) assessment, prompting Delhi govt to direct departments to identify the gaps and prepare time-bound action plans. Officials have been told to prioritise reforms that can be implemented within two months.The biggest concern is Delhi’s fragmented land-record system. Information on land ownership, mutation, registration and property tax is maintained by different departments and agencies, making it difficult to access all details of a property at one place. To address this, govt plans to create a ‘Delhi Land Stack’ that will bring together land records and other property-related information from different agencies.The review also found that many old land and lease records held by DDA, MCD and NDMC are yet to be digitised. These agencies have been asked to speed up digitisation and integrate the records into the larger land-information system, with a target of Aug 2026.Another gap is the absence of a unique ID for every property in the city. Govt is considering geo-referenced property identification and drone surveys, initially in areas like Rohini and Dwarka, to digitally map properties and link them to their exact locations.Property registration also remains only partly digital. While Delhi has an online registration system, some stages, including deed execution and signing, still require manual intervention. The revenue department has been asked to move towards fully paperless and faceless registration.The review also flagged water-quality monitoring. While Delhi has facilities to test water, officials said an independent regulatory mechanism for monitoring and enforcing water-quality standards would strengthen the system. DJB has been asked to examine how such a mechanism can be established.Construction-related reforms also figured in the meeting, with officials discussing incentives for sustainable buildings. MCD has proposed measures linked to floor area ratio while departments have been asked to explore alternatives like property tax rebates and environmental incentives.Delhi govt also reviewed the proposed urbanisation of 48 villages, directing the urban development and revenue departments to move the relevant file for consideration by LG.
