A) Background

In August 2007 after the enactment of the Land Act, 2007 during the 87th Session of the National Assembly, the National Land Commission Secretariat was institutionalised as an autonomous Agency in the country. With its commencement, the responsibilities such as transfer of land registration from royal court of justice, thromde land transaction from MoWHS, resettlement responsibility from MoHCA, Cadastral Re-surveying of all Dzongkhags using most advanced technology and development of a comprehensive land registration system through ICT has been given to the National Land Commission.

The National Land Commission Secretariat consists of two Land Registration Divisions apart from three technical Divisions, PPD & AFD:

1. Rural Land Division
2. Urban Land Division

The Land Record Sectors of 20 Dzongkhags are instituted under the direct supervision of Rural Land Division. Each Land Record Sector of the Dzongkhag is headed by the Land Record Officer and is functioned as per the directives of Rural Land Division.

The Dzongkhag Land Record Sector carries out all the land related services of the entire 15 gewogs and 3 Drungkhags of Trashigang Dzongkhag. The 15 gewogs comprises of Bartsham, Bidung, Kanglung, Kangpara, Khaling, Lumang, Merak, Phongmay, Radi, Samkhar, Sakten, Shongphu, Thrimzhing, Udzorong and Yangneer gewogs. The 2 gewogs of Khaling & Lumang falls under Wamrong Drungkhag, Thrimzhing & Kangpara gewogs under Thrimzhing Drungkhag and Merak & Sakten under Sakten Drungkhag. The Dzongkhag Land Record Sector, Trashigang has currently 10 staffs including the Drungkhag staffs as follows:

1. Gyembo, Dzongkhag Land Registrar.
2. Sonam Tashi, Land Record Assistant.
3. Lotay, Surveyor (currently pursuing his diploma course in survey at Hyderabad, India).
4. Singye Wangchuk, Surveyor. (Resigned from service to pursue his further studies)
5. Kinley Namgay, Survey Field Assistant.
6. Sam Tshewang, Survey Field Assistant.
7. Rinzin Loday, Land Record Assistant.
8. Ugyen Dorji, Land Record Assistant.
9. Tshering Dorji, Surveyor.
10. Sonam, Land Inspector.
11. Sigyel Dorji, Land Record Officer, Thrimzhing Drungkhag.
12. Ngawang Namgay, Land Record Assistant, Wamrong Drungkhag.
13. Tshering Lhendup, Land Record Assistant, Sakten Drungkhag (Resigned from service wef 1st May 2015).

B) Mandates of Dzongkhag Land Record Sector

1. Land administration and management
2. To cater land registration and transaction services
3. To prepare new land records as per government directives, carry out land registration and transfer land reflected in Thram
4. To maintain the Chazhag Thram of the Drungkhags and Gewogs under the safe custody of Dzongkhag Land Record Sector.
5. To maintain records of total acreage of various types of privately registered landholdings and general information on government and public owned land in the kingdom
6. To issue copies of Sathram, with respect to land already recorded in the Chazhag Thram of Government, and to provide information indicating the costs and taxes with details of land types to landowners
7. To provide information on registered land

C) Functions/Responsibilities of Dzongkhag Land Record Sector

1. To issue the Land Ownership Certificates (Lagthrams) to the landowners.
2. To process for registration of land as per Royal Kasho.
3. To maintain up to date information on various land registrations and land types in line with the Land Act 2007.
4. To maintain and safeguard the Thrams and related documents at Dzongkhag.
5. To correspond with court for thram copy, thram history, transaction history etc for purposes of processing land disputes and investigations.
6. To process for normal land transactions submitted by the gewogs.
7. To process for acquisition of government and private registered land and allotment of land substitutes and cash compensation to the affected landowners.
8. To process for GRF land lease, exchange and other land cases.
9. To provide information on registered land.
10. To process land conversions like conversion of chuzhing to khimsa, chuzhing to kamzhing and kamzhing to other land categories.
11. To conduct land verification of disputes, land exchange of private land with GRF land and other purposes.

D) Successive Heads of Land Record Sector, Trashigang

The following individuals were the successive heads of Survey & Land Record Sector, Trashigang till date:

YearSuccessive Head of Survey & Land Record Sector

1998 – 2007Mr. Dema, Acting Land Record Officer.

2008 – 2012Mr. Sigyel Dorji, Land Record Officer

2013 -Mr. Gyembo, Dzongkhag Land Registrar I

The following staffs of Land Record Sector are also stationed in three Drungkhags of Trashigang Dzongkhag:

YearSuccessive Head of Survey & Land Record Sector

2013 –Mr. Sigyel Dorji, Land Record Officer, Thrimzhing Drungkhag

2009 --Mr. Ngawang Namgay, Land Record Assitant, Wamrong Drungkhag

2013 -Mr. Tshering Lhendup, Land Record Assitant, Sakten Drungkhag (Resigned from service wef 1st May 2015)

E) Different land services

The Nationwide National Cadastral Resurvey has been successfully completed in the entire Dzongkhags in 2012. The National Land Commission has also introduced the online transaction system (e-Sakor) in 2008 and currently the online transaction system is operational in 10 Dzongkhags where the New Thrams has been issued after completion of the National Cadastral Resurvey. In Trashigang, the New Chazhag Thrams and Lagthrams of five gewogs comprising of Bartsham, Bidung, Merak, Sakten & Yangneer gewogs have been issued in 2012 and the remaining 10 gewogs has been issued in 2014. The online transaction system (e-Sakor) has also been started from May 2015 after commencement of land transactions in all the 15 gewogs.

The following are the various land services provided the Dzongkhag Land Sector:

A)General Land Transactions

1. land transaction (change of ownership from deceased/inheritance/gift/sale purchase/exchange/donation)
2. Registration of land based on Court Verdict.
3. Registration of land based on Royal Kasho.
4. Land type conversion from Chuzhing to Khimsa.
5. Land type conversion from Chuzhing to Kamzhing.
6. Thram corrections (for plot/sheet number, plot name, plot merging)
7. Thram corrections (for spelling mistake of landowner, village name, ID card number, etc)
8. Surrender of Registered Land to Government
9. GRF Land acquisition
10. Private Land acquisition
    1. Acquisition with cash compensation
    2. Acquisition with allotment of land substitute
11. Transfer of land between Government Institution.
12. Thram omission

B.Private land exchange with GRF land.
C.GRF land Lease

1. GRF land lease for Commercial Agriculture Farming
2. GRF land lease for Business Activity
3. GRF land lease for Mining Activity
4. GRF land lease for Development Activity
5. GRF land lease for Tsamdro/Pasture
6. GRF land lease for Sokshing

D.Miscellaneous Land Services

1. Issuance of Land Ownership Certificate (Lagthram)
2. Mortgage of registered land for Loan
3. E. Forms for different land services

   The National Land Commission has introduced the online transaction system (e-Sakor) in 2008 and currently the online transaction system is operational in 10 Dzongkhags where the New Thrams has been issued after completion of the National Cadastral Resurvey. In Trashigang, the New Chazhag Thrams and Lagthrams of five gewogs comprising of Bartsham, Bidung, Merak, Sakten & Yangneer gewogs have been issued in 2011 and the remaining 10 gewogs shall be issued soon. The online transaction system (e-Sakor) shall also be launched in Trashigang right after issuance of the New Thrams of the remaining 10 gewogs.

    

   The following are the different forms for availing the various land services:

   • Normal Transaction Forms for sale/purchase, gift, inheritance, exchange, donation etc.
   • GRF Land Acquisition Forms.
   • Private Land Acquisition, Cash Compensation and Land Substitute Allotment Forms.
   • Transaction Form between Government Institutions (LT form- 2)
   • GRF Land Exchange Forms.
   • GRF Land Lease Forms.
   • Land Omission Forms.
   • Tsatong Land Forms.