The Centre plans to issue a 14-digit identification number to every plot of land in the country within a year’s time. It will subsequently integrate its land records database with revenue court records and bank records, as well as Aadhaar numbers on a voluntary basis, according to a Parliamentary standing committee report submitted to the Lok Sabha. The Unique Land Parcel Identification Number (ULPIN) scheme has been launched in 10 States in the year 2021 and will be rolled out across the country by March 2022.
The Unique Land Parcel Identification Number (ULPIN) scheme has been launched in ten States this year and will be rolled out across the country by March 2022, the Department of Land Resources told the Standing Committee on Rural Development.
Being described as “the Aadhaar for land", it is a number that would uniquely identify every surveyed parcel of land and prevent land fraud, especially in the hinterlands of rural India, where land records are outdated and often disputed.
The identification will be based on the longitude and latitude coordinates of the land parcel, and is dependent on detailed surveys and geo-referenced cadastral maps.
This is the next step in the Digital India Land Records Modernisation Programme (DILRMP), which began in 2008.
Proper land statistics and land accounting through ULPIN will help develop land banks and lead towards Integrated Land Information Management System (ILIMS).
The major benefit of having the ULPIN is that all land records and consequently transactions will be transparent. It will help keep land records up-to-date.
It will also be easier to share land records across departments, financial institutions and all stakeholders. Through this, it will be possible to deliver land records services to citizens through a single window.
The scheme will also protect government land, not to mention, make land acquisitions easier. According to the government, it is also a cost-effective approach.
Linking Aadhaar with land records through ULPIN would cost ₹3 per record, while seeding and authentication of landowner Aadhaar data would cost ₹5 each.
Digital India Land Records Modernisation Programme (DILRMP) is a Central Sector scheme that has been extended up to 2020-21 at a total cost of Rs. 950 crores.
The Department of Land Resources (Ministry of Rural development) has proposed a further extension to 2023-24, to complete its original targets as well as expand its ambit with a slew of new schemes.
It attempts to build upon the commonalities that exist in the arena of land records in various States to develop an appropriate Integrated Land Information Management System (ILIMS) across the country, on which different States can also add State-specific needs as they may deem relevant and appropriate.
This will enhance the service deliveries to the citizens of the country and will also function as inputs to the schemes of the other sectors like Agriculture, Finance, Disaster Management etc.
Citizens will get real-time land ownership records. Since the records will be placed on the websites with proper security IDs, property owners will have free access to their records without any compromise in the confidentiality of the information.
Free access to the records will reduce rent-seeking and harassment because of the reduced interface between citizens and government functionaries. Abolition of stamp papers and payment of stamp duty and registration fees through banks, etc. will also reduce interface with the registration machinery.
The time taken for obtaining RoR (record of right), etc. will be reduced because of IT inter-linkages. Automatic and automated mutations will significantly reduce the scope of fraudulent property deals. Conclusive titling will also significantly reduce litigation. Citizens will have better access to credit facilities and information such as market value.
