Codes and watermarks to secure land deal papers

THANE: A sudden spike in practice of forging of government documents has now prompted state revenue authorities to introduce High Security Papers for every land transaction. Thane now becomes the second district after Nashik to rope in a technology essentially used in printing of currency by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
The move has been necessitated after several cases of duplication and counterfeiting of district papers, orders and letterheads were reported in past six months, leading to filing of first information reports by district authorities.
The High Security Papers, to be introduced from February 1, is embossed with secure codes and watermarks, making it impossible to even carry out a regular photocopy of the original. The watermark will ensure a difference between an original from a photocopied or a scanned document. A single paper would cost Rs 5 and above. The documents will also be UV Fibre secured, which essentially would mean that the fluorescent fibre embedded in the documents will become visible on the document when thrown under black lights.
Officials in the district administration said, land forgery and duplication of caste certificates and other district papers have become commonplace in Thane. Once the technology is fully introduced for land transactions, officials in the district office said, it would be extended for caste certificates, and every service provided by the revenue offices. "We got fed up of the repeated misuse of our official papers. A recent case in Dombivli was the last straw and we decided to do something about it," said Thane collector P Velrasu.
Thane has a high occurrence of forgery in land transaction and documentation as most of the 7/12 has not yet been converted into property card.
According to an estimate only 30% of 7/12 in district has been converted to property card, leaving room for manipulation during transaction or change of use of land.