Abstract: Background: Worldwide, modern land administration systems (LAS) are under unprecedented pressure due to rapid urbanization, the expansion of informal settlements, insecurity of tenures, environmental degradation, and inefficient maintenance of cadastral records. Although traditional ground-based methods of cadastral surveying provide legal precision at the millimeter level, they are too costly, require a great deal of labor, and are slow to carry out on a national scale. Objective: This article gives a thorough and systematic summary of the newly developing geospatial technologies—these include photogrammetry using Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), Terrestrial and Mobile Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR), Very High Resolution (VHR) Satellite Remote Sensing (SRS), the integration of 3D/4D Building Information Modeling with Geographic Information Systems (BIM-GIS), and Distributed Ledger Technology (Blockchain)—with regard to the modernisation of cadastral surveying and land governance. Literature search and review method: A systematic literature search was carried out in Scopus, Web of Science, IEEE Xplore, and Google Scholar for peer-reviewed studies that were published between 2015 and 2026. The explicit inclusion criteria were used to select empirical investigations, technical frameworks, and policy evaluations relating to 2D/3D/4D cadastral modelling, fit-for-purpose land administration (FFPLA), and automated spatial data extraction. Key findings: Compared with terrestrial techniques, integrated geospatial pipelines cut the time required for carrying out cadastral surveying in the field by 60 to 75 per cent and achieve horizontal and vertical positional accuracies at the centimetre level, meeting the statutory requirements for cadastral surveys. The use of active 3D sensor fusion (LiDAR-photogrammetry) together with BIM-GIS data integration overcomes the structural drawbacks of traditional 2D planar cadastres by allowing volumetric stratification of legal rights, restrictions, and responsibilities (RRRs). Moreover, decentralized ledgers incorporated with Spatial Data Infrastructures (SDI) greatly reduce instances of title corruption, boundary manipulation, and administrative friction. Conclusion: Geospatial technologies form a fundamental basis for attaining the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs 1, 11, and 15); in order to realise their full potential it is necessary to address the standardisation gaps in 3D data models (for example those in the Land Administration Domain Model ISO 19152), the high computational overheads, and the regulatory obstacles that exist in developing areas.
This paper explores the deployment of a blockchain supported land-registry system in rural Bihar. In light of transparency, fraud mitigation, governance efficiency and digital inclusion, this paper refutes the common assumption that immutability of data results in accurate title. This study employs validated secondary data, from the years 2020-2025, such as the Bihar National Family Health Survey 2019-2021, various official sources of the Digital India Land Records Modernization Programme, Bihar land-service portals, and peer-reviewed literature on the intersection of blockchain and land governance. According to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-5, approximately 84 percent of surveyed households in Bihar were classified as rural, and a majority of the respondents, 79.4 percent of women and 56.4 percent of men, had never used the Internet. The widening of the access gap was examined in the context of the mobile phone ownership and usage, the financial inclusion of women, as well as the self-reported ownership of a house or land. The evidence-weighted readiness assessment determined that the level of digitization was relatively better, but the level of coordination of institutions, governance of cybersecurity, design of correction mechanisms, and design of user participation mechanisms were relatively poor. This paper proposes a permissioned industry consortium ledger, where sensitive data and documents remain off-chain, and the only data recorded on-chain are the hashes, identifiers, approvals, timestamps and version references of the land parcels. Smart contracts are used to manage the workflows from registration to mutation, but are not used to resolve the issues of contested titles, inheritance, or boundaries. This paper proposes an assisted-access model with a phased implementation approach, a multilingual interface, an appeal mechanism, and gender-disaggregated analysis and evaluation. Rather than fabricating field surveys and administrative performance data, this paper presents a complete primary data collection framework with a detailed statistical analysis plan for empirical assessment.
Land ownership management is a critical administrative process that requires secure record maintenance, transparent ownership verification, and efficient property transfer mechanisms. Conventional land registry systems primarily depend on centralized databases and paper-based documentation, making them susceptible to document forgery, unauthorized modifications, duplicate ownership claims, lengthy verification procedures, and administrative inefficiencies. These limitations often result in ownership disputes, reduced public trust, and delays in property transactions. This paper presents a Blockchain-Enabled Secure Land Registry Framework that leverages blockchain technology to establish a decentralized, transparent, and tamper-resistant platform for land registration and ownership management. The proposed system integrates a React.js-based user interface with a Node.js and Express.js backend, while Firebase Authentication and Firebase Firestore manage user authentication, supporting documents, and application data. Ethereum smart contracts developed using Solidity are employed to securely record land registration, government verification, and ownership transfer transactions on the blockchain, with Ganache serving as the blockchain testing environment. Every approved transaction generates a unique blockchain transaction hash, enabling secure verification, complete traceability, and immutable ownership history. The hybrid architecture combines the scalability of cloud-based data management with the integrity of blockchain technology to ensure efficient record retrieval while preventing unauthorized alterations. The implemented framework demonstrates secure land registration, transparent ownership transfer, simplified government verification, and reliable auditability with minimal operational complexity. The proposed solution provides a scalable and cost-effective approach for modern digital land administration and establishes a strong foundation for future integration with national land registries, electronic identity verification, GIS-based property mapping, and mobile-enabled citizen services.
Rahmat, Agus Surono, Agung Iriantoro, Maslihati Nur Hidayati
The digital transformation of land administration in Indonesia has accelerated the adoption of electronic land certificates as an instrument for improving administrative efficiency, data security, and legal certainty. This study examines the legal status of electronic land certificates within Indonesia’s national land law system and identifies the principal legal, institutional, governance, and technological challenges affecting their implementation. Employing a qualitative descriptive design with a normative juridical approach, the study analyzes the Basic Agrarian Law, the Electronic Information and Transactions Law, regulations issued by the Ministry of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning/National Land Agency (ATR/BPN), and relevant legal and scholarly literature. The findings demonstrate that electronic land certificates have a valid legal foundation and offer significant advantages, including faster administrative procedures, enhanced document authentication through certified electronic signatures, improved protection of land records, and reduced risks of physical loss and document forgery. Nevertheless, their implementation remains constrained by regulatory inconsistencies, institutional capacity gaps, unequal digital infrastructure, cybersecurity risks, data protection concerns, and potential disputes arising from electronic system failures. The study further identifies permissioned blockchain as a potential complementary mechanism for strengthening data integrity, traceability, and transactional transparency, provided that its adoption is supported by appropriate legal and institutional safeguards. This study contributes an integrated legal–institutional–technological framework for understanding electronic land administration and argues that regulatory harmonization, strengthened digital governance, institutional capacity development, and resilient cybersecurity infrastructure are essential to ensuring legal certainty and sustainable protection of land rights in Indonesia.
Yescha Nuradisa Ekarachmi Danandjojo, Samira Ramezani, Johan Woltjer
Multiple land rights holders and layered land rights structures create fundamental challenges for implementing land-based financing methods such as land value capture (LVC). In a decentralized governance system, overlapping land rights and fragmented planning complicate coordination and limit the effectiveness of LVC for financing transport infrastructure development. This study examines how different rights holders contribute to implementing land value capture within a layered land rights and multi-level governance system in Indonesia, using the Jakarta Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) project as a case study. In Indonesia’s decentralized system, multiple levels of government apply different planning tools to regulate land use and development, complicating coordination between planning, land rights, and LVC mechanisms. Qualitative data from semi-structured interviews and policy analysis show that overlapping land rights and fragmented regulations create legal and administrative uncertainty. This uncertainty acts as a barrier to cross-governmental coordination and private stakeholder engagement, both of which are necessary for a workable LVC framework. Although a formal LVC framework exists, unclear rules on which rights holders should contribute, combined with complex administrative procedures, limit its practical use. This study contributes to the LVC literature by linking instruments to specific land rights holders and by extending the bundle-of-rights perspective. It explains why LVC remains underutilized in contexts with layered land rights and decentralized governance. The findings highlight the need for policy reforms to clarify contribution obligations, improve coordination across governance levels, and simplify the administrative process.