Soon, access land records at click of a mouse

enable those interested in sale, purchase of properties to access land records even through smart phones

AT PRESENT, IF ANYONE WANTS TO GAIN ACCESS TO A PARTICULAR LAND RECORD, HE HAS TO APPEAR IN PERSON AT THE COLLECTORATE AND THE ENTIRE PROCESS IS CUMBERSOME.

LUCKNOW: In a move beneficial to property holders, buyers-sellers and realtors, the district administration has started digitisation of its land records.

Officials say the move will enable those interested in sale and purchases of properties to access land records even through smart phones, adding that the process would also bring down land disputes and grabbing cases to quite an extent.

“It’s indeed a revolutionary move that will be of great relief to both general public and officers tackling land dispute cases,” said Rakesh Pandey, additional district magistrate (ADM), who is spearheading the digitisation programme here.

The programme is part of the ‘Digital India Land Record Modernisation Programme (DILRMP)’ of the central government and aimed at computerisation of land records, including mutations, maps, integration of textual and spatial data, survey and re-survey of settlement records. The district altogether has 961 villages and around 1270 maps, said Pandey. Of the total maps, the officers found 950 maps in good shape. Hence, they started the scanning part. Efforts are also being made to ‘repair’ the old and tattered maps to complete the scanning process.

Once scanned, Pandey said, officers will start another set of exercises. “It’s the surveying part. A committee has been formed at the district level to physically survey the places as mentioned in the digitised data. Officers will make field visits in their respective areas to corroborate the scanned data, in order to minimise the chances of errors,” added Pandey.

After the survey is completed, the maps would be digitised so that those interested in any particular property could find the land records at a click of a mouse. “It will be a transparent, single window system to handle land records that includes maintenance and updating of textual records, maps and surveys,” he said. At present, if anyone wants to gain access to a particular land record, he has to appear in person at the collectorate and the entire process is cumbersome. “It will not only be cost-effective but time saving as well,” Pandey said.

The officer said it would take almost a year to get to entire land record digitised.