MP govt launches drive to digitise 150 million land records
Bhopal, June 29
Madhya Pradesh government has started its biggest-ever land records digitisation exercise, targeting nearly 150 million old revenue documents under the Digital India Land Records Modernisation Programme.
The initiative is aimed at making land records easily accessible to citizens, improving transparency in the revenue administration and ensuring the long-term preservation of old documents, according to an official statement issued on Monday.
"The state government is committed to ensuring easy, swift and transparent access to government land records for citizens, as well as the secure preservation of old land records," the statement said.
The ongoing exercise marks the third phase of the state's land records modernisation programme and is the largest since the scheme was launched. More than 55 million land records were digitised during the first two phases.
It stated that the project involves setting up modern scanning centres in districts and developing a Document Management System (DMS) and DBES software for digitisation and preservation of old revenue records.
Every scanned document will undergo metadata entry and DBES-based double-blind data entry before being verified online by the concerned Patwari. Only after verification will the records be uploaded to the Bhulekh Portal for public access.
According to the statement, scanning of around 27 million land records has already been completed in 12 districts of the Jabalpur and Narmadapuram divisions during the first stage of the current phase. Data entry and verification are now underway.
The second stage of the project will begin in July and cover 11 districts in the Bhopal and Sagar divisions. The government has already issued the necessary guidelines to the district administrations.
"The digitisation of land records will make the revenue system more transparent and effective. It will also make it easier for citizens to view and obtain their land records online," the statement said.
— IANS
Reader Comments
150 million records is no joke! But I hope they also focus on cybersecurity. Land records are sensitive, and if the system gets hacked, it'll be a nightmare for millions of families.
Great initiative! My cousin in Jabalpur district said the scanning started in March and it's already helping people get their property disputes resolved faster. Just hope the verification process doesn't take years like before. 👌
As an American who works in land management, I'm impressed by the scale. But double-blind data entry is smart—it reduces errors. Australia did something similar in Queensland, and it cut disputes by 40%.
This is good, but honestly, without proper internet access in rural areas, what's the use? My village near Rewa still has 2G at best. They should digitize and also make sure offline access is available.
Hope this means less corruption in the revenue department. The Patwari system has been a source of bribery for decades. Digitization alone won't fix it, but it's a step.
Worked on similar projects in Canada—scale here is enormous. But the key is trained staff. If the government doesn't train the Patwaris properly, this will just be another file on a
We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.