Power of Informality in urban villages (lal dora areas) of Delhi

[Barun]

A very interesting new paper on urban villages in Delhi.  Informality in property transactions happen for a number of reasons. Therefore, formalisation of property rights and titles, without appreciating these factors, may only further muddy the waters, rather than clearing it. 

Barun 

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The productive fuzziness of land documents : the state and processes of accumulation in urban villages of Delhi

Sushmita, Pati (2019) The productive fuzziness of land documents : the state and processes of accumulation in urban villages of Delhi. Contributions to Indian Sociology, 53 (2). pp. 249-271. ISSN 0973-0648

Abstract: 

This article revolves around the fuzzy nature of land titles within and around the ‘Lal Dora’ (literally, ‘red thread’) ringing the urban villages of Delhi to understand how property ownership gets mediated through documents. Through a close look at three kinds of documents—land records, a particular notification over construction in the Lal Dora region and the General Power of Attorney, it pries open how these documents govern property relations today. As much as records and laws become the means through which the state attempts to intervene, disaggregate and make sense of property regimes, these attempts are frustrated through practices pertaining to property and localised bureaucratic effects. The evidence presented as documents, stamp papers or certificates is only superimposed on the larger field of property relationships in the urban villages of Delhi. The article shows that the informality produced by inconsistencies in these documents plugs into the logic of accumulation and comes through as a dynamic albeit inegalitarian force that challenges state power.

The complete paper is available here. 

http://publications.azimpremjifoundation.org/1992/

The author teaches at Azim Premji University, Bangalore, and currently at ICAS-MP, Delhi.