Xpress News24
New Delhi: The government has rolled out the third phase of the Digital India Land Records Modernization Programme (DILRMP), bringing a wider digital framework for land records across rural and urban areas. The complete guidelines for DILRMP 3.0 were released on Thursday, with the government focusing on integrating land records, maps, registration data and related information on a GIS-based digital platform.
A budget of Rs 565.5 crore has been allocated for the scheme for 2026-31. The programme is aimed at moving beyond the digitisation of individual land records towards a more integrated land management system.
Launching the initiative, Union Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said DILRMP 3.0 would help create a unified system for managing land-related information. He said the initiative could make it easier for farmers to access institutional credit and reduce the need to repeatedly visit government offices for land-related work.
One of the major components of the new phase is the proposed GIS-enabled ‘Land Stack’. It will bring together different categories of land-related information, including geo-referenced cadastral maps, Records of Rights, property registration details and relevant court cases, through a GIS-based digital interface.
Under DILRMP 3.0, states will be able to develop their own Land Stacks by integrating land-related datasets and systems through APIs. These state-level systems are intended to form the foundation of a National Land Stack, allowing land data and related systems to work together more efficiently.
Another significant change will be the introduction of a Universal Bhu-Aadhaar for land parcels. Under the scheme, every land parcel in the country will receive a 14-digit unique identification number. The proposed system is intended to provide clearer identification of properties and help address issues related to land-related fraud.
The government is also planning changes at registration offices. As part of the programme, 75 high-footfall Sub-Registrar Offices will be modernised as digital service centres, with improved facilities modelled on the lines of service-oriented government centres.
The programme also puts emphasis on preserving older land and property documents. Historical registration records will be systematically scanned and stored digitally. The move is expected to help preserve records linked to ancestral properties and provide easier access to documents that can become important in ownership and inheritance-related disputes.
A Registration Repository will also form part of the digital framework. It will provide a secure platform for registered documents and information related to property liabilities or loans. Such records can assist in checking ownership, past transactions and other details required during property-related verification.
The revenue court system is another area targeted for modernisation. The Revenue Court Case Management System (RCCMS) will be upgraded and linked directly with land records. The objective is to improve case management, speed up disposal of mutation-related matters and help reduce the burden of pending revenue cases.
Urban land records are also part of DILRMP 3.0. The government plans to accelerate the NAKSHA pilot project to create more accurate, GIS-enabled urban land records. Under this framework, Urban Property Cards, or UrPro Cards, will also be issued.
Taken together, the measures represent a shift from maintaining land records in separate systems towards linking maps, ownership records, registration documents, court information and property-related data through digital platforms.
For landowners, the intended changes could make ownership verification and access to land-related records more straightforward. The success of the programme, however, will depend on how effectively states integrate their existing databases and implement the digital systems on the ground.
