Bhoomi Samman

The President of India, Smt Droupadi Murmu presented the “Bhoomi Samman” 2023 at a function organised by the Union Ministry of Rural Development in New Delhi today (July 18, 2023). 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).

Speaking on the occasion, the President said that acceleration of rural development is essential for the overall development of the country. For the development of rural areas, modernization of land records is a basic requirement as the livelihood of most of the rural population is dependent on land resources. A comprehensive integrated land management system is of utmost importance for the overall development of rural areas.

The President said that digitization increases transparency. The modernization and digitization of land records would have a great impact on the development of the country. Digitization 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.

The President was happy to note that under the Digital India Land Information Management System, a Unique Land Parcel Identification Number is being provided which could be useful like 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 is coming from digitization 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 our country is involved in disputes related to land and a lot of time of the administration and the judiciary is consumed in these matters. Through digitization and linkages of information, the energy of the people and institutions, which gets consumed in resolving disputes, would be utilized for development.