In today’s era of digitalization, commitment towards advancing efforts and empowering rural communities through streamlined land record management is one of the crucial tasks from government institutions. Taking a step forward towards the ambitious project and in a proud moment for West Singhbhum district in Jharkhand, Deputy Commissioner Ananya Mittal was honored with the Bhoomi Samman Award by President Murmu for the successful digitization of land records.

The district was recognized among nine others in the state for completing over 99% of the task of digitizing sale deeds, Khatiyans, and other land-related documents under the ambitious Digital India Land Records Modernization Programme (DILRMP).

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However, it was not just Singhbhum, President Murmu on Tuesday presented the awards to nine state secretaries and 68 district collectors for their commendable achievements in the implementation of the Digital India Land Records Modernization Programme (DILRMP).

Congratulating the awardees for achieving saturation of the core components of DILRMP, President Murmu highlighted the significance of digitization of land records in the development of rural areas.

The DILRMP aims to create an integrated land information management system across the country by leveraging commonalities in land records practices among various states. With its implementation, people can now easily avail loans against their property, which was not easily accessible before.

Union Minister of State for Rural Development, Faggan Singh Kulaste, expressed that over 94% of land records have already been digitized and the rest will be completed by the deadline of March 31, 2024. The digitization process is expected to significantly reduce the backlog of court cases related to land disputes, thereby preventing project delays and boosting the country’s economy.

Moreover, digitization will improve the effectiveness and efficiency of services and benefits offered by central and state departments related to agriculture, farmer welfare, chemical and fertilizer, public distribution system (PDS), panchayati raj, and financial institutions.

The recognition of successful implementation of DILRMP by the government and the presentation of Bhoomi Samman awards demonstrate the commitment towards significant strides being made across the country in improving the digitalization of land records, involving 766 districts in 28 states and union territories.