A land deed is essential for identifying land ownership in a modern land administration system. However, most land in Afghanistan lack legal deeds and ownership relies on informal customary deeds. This creates controversy between the formal and informal deed systems, causing land tenure disputes between the government and the people, which has hindered national development projects like the Kabul New City in the Dehsabz area. The purpose of this study is to assess the root causes of these controversies and analyzes the factors influencing the reliance on one system over the other. This research employs a socio-legal methodology, combining quantitative and qualitative methods. Specifically, a survey of citizens from the Dehsabz district was conducted with 130 responses collected. The qualitative aspect of the study analyzed Afghanistan’s land-related regulations, policies, and institutional procedures. The findings reveal that despite the formal deed system’s benefits, around 80% of respondents rely on customary systems for three main reasons: 50% of people use land based on informal deeds or without a title, formal institutions are weak, corrupt, and expensive, and there are disputes between the government and people over land size and grade. In conclusion, Afghanistan needs a unified land deed system that integrates informal and formal deeds to resolve the controversy and support national development projects.
Mohammad Farid ZAWAD (Mon,) studied this question.