CS takes stock of key land records digitization initiatives

Terms the exercises a major governance reform

JAMMU, MARCH 15: Chief Secretary, Atal Dulloo today chaired a comprehensive review meeting on the Digital India Land Records Modernisation Programme (DILRMP), Survey of Villages and Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas (SVAMITVA), Unique Land Parcel Identification Number (ULPIN) and National Geospatial Knowledge-based land Survey of urban Habitations (NAKSHA) here.

The meeting was attended by Additional Chief Secretary, Shaleen Kabra; Secretary Revenue Department, Kumar Rajeev Ranjan; Divisional Commissioners of Jammu and Kashmir divisions; and Deputy Commissioners who joined through video conferencing from their respective District Headquarters, and other concerned officers.

Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Secretary underscored the transformative potential of these land digitisation initiatives, drawing a parallel with some of India’s most successful digital revolutions. “These initiatives are going to revolutionise governance just like the success of UPI and other ambitious programmes like Agristack. We are witnessing a technological revolution and Jammu and Kashmir must be an active and leading part of it,” he observed.

Emphasising the direct public benefit of the ongoing digitisation drive, he noted that a great number of public grievances pertain to land-related issues and these will be resolved as the digitisation process reaches completion. “This is a great service to the masses. It will bring immense convenience to the public and usher in new arenas for development and governance,” the Chief Secretary said.

Speaking on the occasion the Additional Chief Secretary (Financial Commissioner, Revenue) Shaleen Kabra, highlighted the transformative potential of land records digitisation, describing it as a major step towards transparent, efficient and citizen-centric governance. He emphasized that the initiative will significantly improve accessibility, accuracy and reliability of land records, thereby reducing disputes and enhancing public trust in the revenue administration.

Stressing the importance of maintaining high standards, he underscored the need for rigorous quality checks at every stage of the process to ensure that the digitised records remain error-free and authentic. He called upon the concerned revenue officers down the line to exercise due diligence and accountability so that the digitisation exercise results in a robust, reliable and future-ready land records management system.

Presenting the progress made under DILRMP, the Administrative Secretary, Revenue, Kumar Rajeev Ranjan apprised the meeting that 98 percent of Khasras across the Union Territory have been digitised and approved, with 97 percent of villages completing the first-level freezing process.

Additionally he gave out that in over 5,401 grievance camps have been organised at the village level for public reading of Jamabandis, during which over 52,000 non-quasi judicial and more than 5,700 quasi judicial grievances have been recorded and are being addressed. Final freezing of the updated Jamabandis 2026 has been targeted for completion by 31st March this year.

Regarding ULPIN or Bhu-Aadhar, the meeting was apprised that over 20.56 lakh Unique Land Parcel Identification Numbers have been generated for 3,320 villages so far. Under the digitisation of cadastral maps, 6,518 out of 6,857 villages, accounting for 95.2 percent, have been geo-referenced.

Moreover it was divulged 7.28 crore revenue documents including Jamabandis, Mutations and Girdawari records have been scanned and uploaded on the Land Records Information System (LRIS). The NAKSHA programme for creation of land records in urban habitations is also progressing, with aerial survey, ORI generation and ground truthing completed for Bishnah.

The Chief Secretary acknowledged the significant ground covered but maintained that the remaining targets are well within reach. “We have covered a lot of ground and progressed greatly. We have just so much more to finish, but the targets are achievable,” he said, adding that many states are already leading in these endeavours and J&K must keep pace.

He gave several specific directions for resolution of deadlocks and tough situations being encountered during the digitisation process. He called for strict adherence to rules at every step, cautioning officers to avoid complications and focus on weeding out illegal mutations. “We have to take every step based on rules. Let us put in concerted efforts to weed out illegal mutations and purify revenue records,” he directed.

The Chief Secretary asked the Divisional Commissioners to personally monitor progress under each component and actively guide the Deputy Commissioners for effective on-ground implementation. Specific timeline-based targets were assigned to all districts for completion of pending milestones.