President Droupadi Murmu on Tuesday underlined the need for modernising land records for the overall development of rural areas of the country, saying the livelihood of most of the rural population was dependent on land resources.

”Acceleration of rural development is essential for the overall development of the country. A comprehensive integrated land management system is of utmost importance for the overall development of rural areas,” she said while presenting the “Bhoomi Samman” 2023 at a function organised by the Union Ministry of Rural Development in New Delhi.

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The awards were received by state secretaries and district collectors along with their teams who have excelled in achieving saturation of the core components of Digital India Land Records Modernization Programme (DILRMP).

The president said that digitisation increased transparency. The modernisation and digitisation of land records would have a great impact on the development of the country. Digitisation of land records and its linkages with various government departments would help in proper implementation of welfare schemes. It would also be of great help in case of loss of documents due to calamities like flood and fire.

She was happy to note that under the Digital India Land Information Management System, a Unique Land Parcel Identification Number was being provided which could be useful like an Aadhaar Card. She stated that this number would help in making proper use of the lands as well as forming and implementing new welfare schemes. Linking of E-Courts with land records and registration data-base would have many benefits. The transparency that was coming from digitisation would curb unethical and illegal activities related to land.

The president said that access to land related information in a free and convenient manner would have many benefits. For example, it would help in resolving disputes related to ownership and use of land. She stated that a large population of the country was involved in disputes related to land and a lot of time of the administration and the judiciary was consumed in these matters. Through digitisation and linkages of information, the energy of the people and institutions, which got consumed in resolving disputes, would be utilised for development.