**Georgia Launches Nationwide Land Registration Reform**
The National Agency of Public Registry (NAPR) in Georgia has started a three-year project to register all land plots across the country. This reform aims to complete the initial registration process that was started in 1992.
**Why is this important?**
One-third of Georgia’s land, excluding occupied territories, is still not registered or accurately recorded in the unified cadastral database. This means that a significant part of land is excluded from economic turnover.
**What does the reform entail?**
The Systematic Land Registration Reform covers all municipalities in Georgia (except for occupied territories and self-governing cities like Tbilisi). Private, state, and municipal land plots will be systematically surveyed and registered.
**How will it work?**
Citizens who own or possess a land plot in the registration area will receive an SMS notification when the registration process starts. They can then register their land plot by indicating its boundaries to a NAPR employee, attending a survey process, confirming the use of the land plot, and signing on-site minutes.
**What about unlawfully occupied land?**
A person who wants to register unlawfully occupied land must correctly indicate the boundaries of the land plot, attend the survey process, confirm the fact of squatting or unlawful occupation, and sign the on-site inspection minutes with a witness.
**Raising Public Awareness**
An awareness-raising campaign is crucial for the successful implementation of the reform. This involves proactive information dissemination through various media channels, including the NAPR website, Facebook page, YouTube, and social networks.
**The Budget**
The total cost of the systematic land registration is estimated at 120 million GEL, with 15 million GEL contributed by the World Bank. The costs will be allocated from the state budget on an annual basis to ensure the reform’s importance is recognized.