Land reforms: Centre to digitise land records and maps to promote credit flow in agriculture

New Delhi: The central government will provide appropriate fiscal support for land reforms over the next three years, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced in the Union budget for FY25. These will include land administration, planning and management, and urban planning, usage and building bylaws.

For rural land, the government plans to assign unique identification numbers and establish a new land registry that will be linked to a farmer registry to help credit flow, the finance minister said. 

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The government also plans to digitize land records (rural and urban) and maps to help urban local bodies, Sitharaman said in her budget speech on Tuesday.

Rural land-related actions will include assignment of unique land parcel identification number (ULPIN) or Bhu-Aadhaar for all land parcels, digitization of cadastral maps, survey of map sub-divisions as per current ownership, establishment of land registry, and linking to the farmers registry. 

These actions will facilitate credit flow and other agricultural services, as per the finance minister's budget speech..

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The linking of land and farmer registries to help credit flow into agriculture aligns with the Economic Survey published by chief economic advisor V. Anantha Nageswaran for FY24 on Monday. 

The survey hailed the presence of primary agriculture credit societies (PACS), which facilitate various government schemes for farmers. The latest land reforms announced in Tuesday's budget may be transmitted via such co-operative bodies to pass on the benefits to farmers. These benefits are expected to bring more transparency in land records, helping marginalized identities like women.

Land records in urban areas will be digitized with GIS mapping. An IT-based system for property record administration, updating, and tax administration will be established, as per the budget address. “These will also facilitate improving the financial position of urban local bodies,” the finance minister said.

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The Union government is also planning to bring agricultural data including land and farmers' data within the ambit of digital public infrastructure (DPI) over the next three years, the finance minister announced in her budget speech.