Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir is stepping up the digitisation and updating of land records as part of efforts to modernise Revenue administration and build a transparent, citizen-focused system for delivering land and agricultural services.
The Revenue Department, in collaboration with BISAG-N, is working to digitise and verify records covering nearly 70 lakh land parcels. More than 2,500 Revenue officials have been given role-based access to enter, verify and approve data under the Digital India Land Records Modernization Programme (DILRMP).
Officials said the initiative goes beyond simply scanning old registers. It involves digitisation, updating, verification, public scrutiny and authentication to create a reliable digital database of land records.
Digital database replaces legacy records
Land records are essential for services such as ownership verification, mutations, agricultural assistance, credit, insurance, compensation and property-related transactions. To ensure the accuracy of Records of Rights, the department has adopted a field-based verification process.
A software platform developed with BISAG-N enables village-wise management of land data through a structured relational database. The system records individual details in defined fields, allowing information to be searched, compared, validated and updated through authorised processes.
Three-level verification system
The department has introduced a Maker–Checker–Approver system to strengthen accuracy and accountability.
Under the arrangement, the Patwari enters the land record as the Maker, while the Girdawar/Naib-Tehsildar verifies it against the original Revenue record as the Checker. The Tehsildar then serves as the Approver and gives final clearance.
The system creates multiple safeguards against errors involving names, shares, omissions, spellings and other discrepancies. Each stage is electronically recorded, generating an audit trail and establishing responsibility for the information entered and approved.
Additional monitoring is being carried out through senior-level reviews, District-level Mentors and Prabhari Officers. District committees have also been conducting cross-Tehsil verification to provide an additional layer of scrutiny.
Public participation in verification
Landholders have been included in the verification process through more than 6,800 village-level camps, where Jamabandis were publicly read out and people were given an opportunity to point out discrepancies involving names, shares, mutations and other details.
Digitised records have also been made available for public inspection through the JK Zameen Sudhaar portal. More than 13 lakh corrections have so far been carried out based on discrepancies identified during verification and complaints received from the public.
Pending mutations incorporated
Alongside digitisation, the department is also updating records to ensure that outdated physical records are not simply reproduced in digital form.
Around seven lakh pending mutations have been incorporated into the digitised Record of Rights and processed through the prescribed verification and approval mechanism.
Land database being prepared for AgriStack
The verified digital land database is now being structured for integration with the AgriStack framework under the Government of India’s Digital Agriculture Mission.
AgriStack envisages an integrated digital system comprising the Farmers Registry, geo-referenced village maps and the Crop Sown Registry. Accurate linkage between farmers and their officially recorded landholdings is central to the framework.
Since traditional Jamabandis can list multiple co-owners against a single khasra and record shares at the khata or holding level, the AgriStack system requires the exact land extent attributable to each owner to be available in machine-readable form.
As part of this transformation, 31.26 lakh khasra records have so far been converted into an owner-extent format. The process is expected to make it easier for farmers to identify and claim multiple land parcels associated with their names.
Farmer authentication built into process
The AgriStack exercise also provides for verification by the farmer or landholder. After completing e-KYC, the individual can view the relevant landholding details through the registration interface.
The landholder can then identify the appropriate landholding group and provide voluntary electronic consent. A Farmer ID is generated after the required verification and approval process is completed.
Expected benefits for citizens and farmers
The digitisation drive is expected to make access to Revenue and agricultural services easier for citizens by allowing them to obtain Records of Rights digitally and reducing the need for repeated visits to Patwari and Tehsil offices.
Updated records, electronic audit trails and clearly defined responsibilities are also expected to improve transparency and help reduce delays and land-related disputes.
For farmers, the AgriStack and Farmer ID framework is expected to facilitate more efficient delivery of eligible government schemes, subsidies, procurement services, agricultural inputs, credit, insurance and disaster-relief assistance.
The initiative ultimately seeks to create an accurate, accessible and verified digital land-record ecosystem that can strengthen Revenue administration while enabling more efficient delivery of agricultural services across Jammu and Kashmir.
