Digital registry! Centre to digitise database of land records; move to establish ownership rights, cut disputes

The government is working on building a comprehensive, integrated electronic database of land records that will clearly establish ownership rights in both rural and urban areas, supported by cadastral maps, land resources secretary Manoj Joshi told ET.Officials believe the move will enhance real-time access to land ownership details, improve the utilisation of land resources, reduce disputes, and ensure transparency in record-keeping. The plan comes as the Centre looks to push “next-generation reforms” in factor markets, including land, to strengthen growth amid global headwinds such as additional US tariffs.Currently, urban land records remain sparse, except in states like Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu. A pilot under the Naksha initiative is underway across 160 cities and is expected to conclude in six months, after which the project will be expanded nationwide. Rural areas are comparatively ahead, with 99.8% of available rural land records digitised and 97.3% of cadastral maps converted into digital form.However, mapping is still a work in progress, and states in the northeast—where land is held under community ownership, along with Ladakh, remain outliers.Joshi told the outlet that all sub-registrar offices are now computerised, while nearly 90% of revenue courts have been digitised. The effort falls under the Digital India Land Records Modernization Programme, launched in 2016 and fully funded by the Centre. The finance ministry has approved Rs 875 crore for 2021–26, which includes new components such as computerising revenue courts, integrating them with land records, and linking Aadhaar with land rights on a consent basis.