Project Overview

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.

Landstack, an organization working at the intersection of land rights and technology, is assessing the impact of CADASTA's technology platform and its local collaborations with PRADAN, Archvahini, and Waatavaran on the recognition of forest rights under India's Forest Rights Act (FRA) of 2006. 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 various 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. Additionally, it highlights how community participation and economic benefits were attained through the acceptance and usability of the CADASTA platform.