Land, Housing, and Infrastructure RTIs — A PIO Playbook

• §4(1)(b)(xii) — beneficiaries of subsidy programmes must be proactively published.
• §8(1)(j) — personal data of land-owners / allottees.
• §8(1)(d) — commercial confidence for builder / developer files.
• §10 — severability, essential in mixed records.
• §11 — third-party notice to allottees / co-owners.
• Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition Act, 2013 — substantive scheme; RTI complements.
• RERA Act, 2016 — developer filings are public; complements RTI.

1. Step 1. Identify the custodian — Tehsildar, DC, DDA, PMAY State Agency, RERA, Sub-Registrar.
2. Step 2. Own data or third-party?
3. Step 3. Proactive-disclosure check — many records ought to be online under §4(1)(b)(xii). If so, direct or provide URL.
4. Step 4. Redact personal identifiers (PAN, Aadhaar, bank, phone, addresses).
5. Step 5. §11 notice to allottees / co-owners / developers where confidentiality is implicated.
6. Step 6. Speaking reply with institutional disclosure + §10 redactions.

The RTI seeks the list of PMAY-G beneficiaries for village [X], block [Y], financial year [Z]. This information is required to be proactively published under §4(1)(b)(xii) of the RTI Act, 2005.

Enclosed at Annexure A — category-wise beneficiary list (name, village, approved amount, installment status).

Redactions under §10:
- Bank account numbers — §8(1)(j)
- Aadhaar last 12 digits — §8(1)(j)
- Mobile numbers — §8(1)(j)

Fee calculation: Rs. 2/page × __ pages = Rs. ____.

First-appeal rights preserved.

The RTI seeks the mutation file for Khasra No. XXX, Village Y. As the Tehsildar is the custodian of the revenue record and the applicant is the registered owner (per Annexure-A sale deed copy submitted), this is own-file disclosure.

Enclosed at Annexure A — mutation entries since DD-MM-YYYY, Patwari's inspection report (DD-MM-YYYY), Tehsildar's mutation order (DD-MM-YYYY).

Personal data of co-owners redacted under §10 + §8(1)(j).

• Own plot's mutation status. Disclose.
• Land acquisition award for a specific village. Disclose post-§11 notification; compensation formula disclosable.
• DDA allotment list for a specific scheme. Disclose institutionally; allottee-level data with §10 redaction.
• RERA developer's project file. Disclose (RERA-registered); bank-account details redacted.
• Co-owner's signature on a mutation. Third-party; §11 notice required.
• Cantonment board property records. §2(h) — public authority; disclose.

• Delhi HC on DDA proactive disclosure (CIC → HC line) — DDA directed to publish historically-leased property data.
• Supreme Court land-acquisition rulings (various) — transparency of award and compensation.
• Bombay HC on municipal land records — §4(1)(b) compliance.

• Treating mutation entries as exempt personal data — institutional record, disclosable to owner; redaction for co-owners.
• Refusing PMAY beneficiary lists citing privacy — §4(1)(b)(xii) mandates disclosure.
• Releasing Aadhaar / PAN / bank account numbers in bulk.
• Not issuing §11 notice to co-owners.
• Over-charging fees for photocopying revenue records — Rs. 2/page cap.

• Digitise mutation registers and publish via Bhulekh-type portals — reduces RTI inflow.
• Standard redaction template for revenue records.
• Coordinate with RERA for developer-related RTIs.
• Land-acquisition compensation queries often need DC's Section 11 Award file — keep indexed.
• Tehsildar-level training on §4(1)(b)(xii) significantly reduces appeals.

Q1. Can I seek details of my neighbour's plot ownership?
Partial. Institutional ROR yes; personal data redacted. Full disclosure requires §11 notice and strong public-interest pleading.

Q2. Is my own lease-hold data disclosable to me?
Yes — own data.

Q3. Can the Tehsildar charge for photocopies of mutation records?
Rs. 2 per page.

Q4. What if the Patwari's inspection register is missing?
PIO must certify non-availability under §2(f). Section 20 penalty may apply if loss is pattern.

Land and housing RTIs are a volume category. The Act's §4 proactive-disclosure duty combined with §10 redaction produces clean replies. Avoid blanket privacy denials; embrace digitisation.

• Land records — citizen side
• Section 8(1)(j) framework
• Section 11 third-party notice
• PIO & FAA knowledge base

• RTI Act, 2005, §§4(1)(b)(xii), 8(1)(d), 8(1)(j), 10, 11
• Land Acquisition Act, 2013
• RERA Act, 2016
• CIC orders on DDA / PMAY / mutation

Last reviewed: 21 April 2026.