Assessing relevance and impact of CADASTA platform vis-a-vis forest rights act implementation in India
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About
Project brief
In recent years, there has been increasing recognition of the need to improve tenure security, especially for customary and unrecorded rights, through tenure documentation. Digitization is seen as a strategic pathway for tenure formalization, offering efficiency, effectiveness, and transparency at a low cost, while also providing easy access to formal financing and public entitlements.
The project aimed to evaluate the relevance and impact of the Cadasta platform in mapping and documenting forest rights in India.
Type of Project
Research/ study
Project area
Gujarat, Maharashtra, Odisha
Thematic area
Forest/ land
Project status
Completed
About
Type of Project
Research/ study
Project area
Gujarat, Maharashtra, Odisha
Thematic area
Forest/ land
Project status
Completed
Forest right act and the need for digitization
In recent years, there has been increasing recognition of the need to improve tenure security, especially for customary and unrecorded rights, through tenure documentation.
Digitization is seen as a strategic pathway for tenure formalization, offering efficiency, effectiveness, and transparency at a low cost, while also providing easy access to formal financing and public entitlements.
About
Type of Project
Research/ study
Project area
Gujarat, Maharashtra, Odisha
Thematic area
Forest/ land
Project status
Completed
Forest right act and the need for digitization
In recent years, there has been increasing recognition of the need to improve tenure security, especially for customary and unrecorded rights, through tenure documentation.
Digitization is seen as a strategic pathway for tenure formalization, offering efficiency, effectiveness, and transparency at a low cost, while also providing easy access to formal financing and public entitlements.
Approach
Landstack assessed the relevance of technology particularly the Cadasta platform through the perspectives of various stakeholders. The research focused on understanding how different user groups, including local communities, NGOs, and government officials, perceived and adapted to technology platforms like Cadasta for land rights documentation and recognition. Furthermore, it highlighted how the platform's acceptance and usability facilitated community participation and delivered economic benefits. The primary objective of the study is to analyze how CADASTA’s technology, in collaboration with local partners, influences decentralized processes of rights documentation and recognition, thereby promoting equitable outcomes.
The study spanned 67 villages across three states—Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Odisha—and employed mixed qualitative and quantitative methods. Covering 583 households and conducting 90 interviews, the research aimed to understand how different user groups—including local communities, NGOs, and government officials—perceived and adapted to technology platforms like CADASTA for land rights documentation and recognition.
Contact
For further information on specefic aspects of the project, contact
Richa Joshi
All project related details
Arman Mohanty
Data, coding, cleaning, index, web application related information
Himanshu Baranwal
Community health, FGDs, COVID case data, reporting
Omkar Modak
Survey, relief work
Contact
For further information on specefic aspects of the project, contact
Pranab Ranjan Choudhury
All project related details
Richa Joshi
All project related details
Arman Mohanty
Data, coding, cleaning,
Himanshu Baranwal
Survey, analysis
Omkar Modak
Data analysis, Survey, relief work
Impact
The Cadasta platform has proven to be a powerful tool for empowering communities by enabling them to create high-quality, robust evidence to assert their forest rights. The platform enhances transparency in land rights documentation and reduces dependency on state mechanisms, fostering greater community autonomy. After the recognition of rights, the platform’s ability to generate digital GIS maps presents significant opportunities. These maps can be seamlessly integrated with other databases, such as the Digital India Land Records Modernization Programme (DILRMP), for broader applications