Work yet to begin on two major components of DILRMP
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Mar 21: The Department of Land Resources of the Union Ministry of Rural Development has expressed dis-satisfaction over the performance of Jammu and Kashmir on land records modernization programme as its two major components have not received the due attention of the concerned authorities so far. Moreover, financial progress is also not up to the mark as less than 60% of the released funds were utilized till ending last month.
The Digital India Land Records Modernization Programme (DILRMP), which was launched by the Union Government in August 2008, is aimed at developing an appropriate integrated land information management system with the liberty to the States to add State-specific needs as they may deem relevant and appropriate.
The actual implementation of DILRMP in Jammu and Kashmir was started during 2015-16 when J&K Lands Records Management Agency approved plan for computerization/digitization of land records in the State through outsourcing model.
There are three components of the DILRMP—computerization of lands records; computerization of registration and integration of land records with registration. However, J&K has so far laid focus on computerization of land records only, reveals an official document of the Department of Land Resources of the Union Ministry of Rural Development, the copy of which is available with EXCELSIOR.
As per the document, J&K is among the very few States in the country which have neither completed computerization of land records nor started paying attention towards computerization of registration and integration of land records with registration. “This is mainly because the Government is not sure as to when the computerization of land records in whole of Jammu and Kashmir will be completed especially when this exercise started in districts of Jammu and Srinagar in Phase-I has already missed the deadline”, official sources said.
It is pertinent to mention here that Phase-I was to be completed between November 2015 and February 2018. However, due to administrative and procedural formalities the deadline could not be met and it is officially stated that the Phase-I is likely to be completed ending March 2019.
“Now, it is to be seen whether the concerned authorities will be in a position to start implementation of Phase-II, which as per the plan chalked out by J&K Land Records Management Agency, will be completed by March 2020 covering districts of Poonch, Ramban, Baramulla, Anantnag, Kargil, Udhampur, Leh, Doda, Bandipora and Rajouri”, sources said.
As per the plan, Phase-III will be implemented between April 2020 and March 2022 and under this Phase the districts of Kathua, Kulgam, Shopian, Budgam, Reasi, Ganderbal, Pulwama, Kupwara, Kishtwar and Samba will be taken up. However, the Union Rural Development Ministry is apprehensive about meeting of these timelines by the J&K Government especially when implementation of only one component that too in pilot districts is going to take one more year, sources said.
As per the document of Department of Land Resources, the financial progress of the J&K is also not up to the mark. Since the launch of DILRMP in the State, funds to the tune of Rs 1465.56 lakh were made available to the concerned authorities but only an amount of Rs 866.58 lakh has been utilized till ending February 2018.
“The subject of land and its management falls in the jurisdiction of the State as such any legal challenge in the implementation of DILRMP is purely the job of the concerned authorities of the State and Department of Land Resources has nothing to do with the same”, sources said, adding “completion of various components under DILRMP depends upon the effectiveness and capacity of the concerned authorities of the State as such all efforts should be made to gear up implementation of programme so that people have access to transparent land records in the shortest possible time”.
Apart from computerization of land records, registration and their integration, the Government is also required to construct Modern Record Rooms but the same is also going on at a snail’s pace.
This can be gauged from the fact that as against target of establishment of 217 Modern Record Rooms at Tehsil level only 29 have been taken up for construction under State Plan so far. Of these, 22 Modern Record Rooms have been fully completed and one partially. Six Modern Record Rooms are still under construction.
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