Bhoomi Samman 2023

Bhoomi Samman 2023

News: Recently, the President of India presented the “Bhoomi Samman” 2023 at a function organised by the Union Ministry of Rural Development.

What is Bhoomi Samman?
• The “Bhoomi Samman” is a prestigious award scheme launched by the Union Ministry of Rural Development to recognize and incentivize the achievements of states and districts in the implementation of the Digital India Land Records Modernization Programme (DILRMP).
• The award is presented by the President of India to the state secretaries and district collectors along with their teams who have excelled in achieving saturation of the core components of DILRMP.

What is DILRMP?
• The Digital India Land Records Modernization Programme (DILRMP) is a major initiative by the Government of India to modernize and digitize the land records in the country.
• It is a central sector scheme and receives 100% funding from the centre.

What are the benefits of DILRMP?
• It improves the quality and accessibility of land records by digitizing and updating them regularly, and making them available online with proper security IDs.
•  It reduces rent-seeking and harassment by minimizing the interface between citizens and government officials, and providing transparent and accountable services.
• It enhances land tenure security by establishing a system of conclusive titling with title guarantee, which reduces land disputes and litigation.
• It facilitates land administration, taxation and valuation by providing accurate and updated data on land ownership, transactions, area, use, etc.
• It enables planning, development and disaster management by providing location-specific information on land resources, infrastructure, socio-economic indicators, etc.
• Land Parcel Identification Number - Similar to Aadhaar Card, the Unique Land Parcel Identification Number provided under the Digital India Land Information Management System allows efficient land utilization and enables the formulation and implementation of new welfare schemes.

What are challenges with Digitization of land records?
• In India, we have a system of registered sale deeds and not land titles, which means that the transaction gets registered, but not the land title. This makes it difficult to verify the ownership history and validity of land records, and exposes them to disputes and litigation.
• The fragmentation and inconsistency of land records across different departments and levels of government. Land records are maintained by various authorities such as revenue, registration, survey, urban development, etc. in different formats and standards. These records are often not updated, synchronized or integrated, leading to discrepancies and errors.
• The high cost and complexity of registering property transactions often discourage people from registering their transactions.
• The privacy and security risks of digitizing and sharing land records online.