Accessibility of Agricultural Land Records in India

The Government of India launched the National Land Records Modernization Programme (NLRMP) in 2008 by unifying the Computerisation of Land Records (CLR) and the Strengthening of Revenue Administration and Updating of Land Records (SRA and ULR) programmes, in order to accomplish the goal of improving the quality of land records across all States and Union Territories (UTs) of the country. Later in 2016, the NLRMP was brought under the “Digital India” initiative and renamed as the Digital India Land Records Modernization Programme (DILRMP). The programme guidelines clearly prioritise focus on the services that citizens ought to benefit from as a result of digitisation of land records. Accessible land records allow owners to verify their details and apply for corrections if discrepancies are found. This is likely to clear disputes, save time and resources, and finally improve the quality of land records. Since land is the essential commodity for property markets, access to improved and accurate information available from the land records will spur economic activity while providing protection to owners, sellers, and buyers.