Year- End Review 2025: Department of Land Resources

 Department of Land Resources is implementing two Schemes/ Programmes:

1. Digital India Land Records Modernization Programme (DILRMP) and
2. Watershed Development Component of Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (WDC- PMKSY)

1. Digital India Land Records Modernization Programme (DILRMP): Achieving Saturation

The Department achieved near-total saturation in the core components of land record digitization, effectively shifting land administration from "in-line" to "online".

• Computerization of RoRs: Completed in 97.27% of villages nationwide.
• Digitization of Maps: Cadastral maps have been digitized for 97.14% of the country.
• Text-Map Integration: A critical milestone where 84.89% of villages have successfully linked their textual Record of Rights (RoRs) with spatial cadastral maps.
• Impact: Citizens in 19 states can now download digitally signed, legally valid land records from home, and banks in 406 districts can verify mortgages online, significantly speeding up credit access.

2. NAKSHA: Revolutionizing Urban Land Records

Addressing the complexities of urban land management, the NAKSHA (National Geospatial Knowledge-based Land Survey of Urban Habitations) pilot programme made rapid progress in 157 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs).

• Aerial Survey: Aerial flying was completed in 116 ULBs (87% of targets), covering ~5,915 sq. km with high-resolution imagery.
• Ground Truthing: Initiated in 72 ULBs, with 100% completion achieved in 21 cities.
• Incentivizing States (SASCI): Under the 'Scheme for Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment (SASCI) 2025-26', the Department successfully recommended ₹1,050 Crore in funding to 24 States/UTs that achieved specific NAKSHA milestones.

3. Strategic Launches: Land Stack and Glossary of Revenue Terms

The year concluded with two landmark initiatives launched on 31st December 2025.

• Land Stack: Launched as a pilot in Chandigarh and Tamil Nadu, this GIS-based platform integrates land, ownership, registration, and building data. It enables departments (Revenue, Survey, Registration, Local Bodies) to operate on a unified, interoperable platform, drawing from global best practices.
• Glossary of Revenue Terms (GoRT): To address the linguistic diversity of India's land administration, a glossary was released to harmonize terms like Khasra, Dag, and Pula. It provides meanings in Vernacular, Hindi, English, and Roman scripts to ensure data interoperability without replacing State-specific terminology.

4. ULPIN (Bhu-Aadhaar): A Unique Identity for Land

The Unique Land Parcel Identification Number (ULPIN), a 14-digit alphanumeric code based on geo-coordinates, has been established as the "Aadhaar for Land".

• Coverage: As of November 2025, ULPIN has been assigned to over 36 crore land parcels across 29 States and UTs.
• Benefits: It eliminates duplicity, prevents benami transactions, and paves the way for a unified land ecosystem.

5. NGDRS: One Nation, One Registration

The National Generic Document Registration System (NGDRS) has streamlined property transactions, promoting "Ease of Doing Business".

• Adoption: Implemented in 17 States/UTs, including Punjab, Maharashtra, and Himachal Pradesh.
• Integration: 88.6% of Sub-Registrar Offices (SROs) are now integrated with revenue offices, enabling automatic mutation of land records immediately after registration.

6. Policy Reforms and Social Impact

• Gender Column in RoR: In a historic step towards women's empowerment, a mandatory Gender Column was introduced in the Record of Rights. This allows for the generation of gender-disaggregated data to support women-centric policies and targeted benefit delivery.
• Revenue Court Case Management System (RCCMS): To tackle the backlog of land disputes, 22 States have deployed RCCMS. The system offers online filing, real-time tracking, and integration with land records to reflect court orders instantly.
• Land Acquisition (RFCTLARR Act, 2013): The Division continued to enforce fair compensation and rehabilitation standards, ensuring that land acquisition remains humane, participative, and transparent.

7. Institutional Strengthening: Centers of Excellence (CoE)

To sustain these reforms, the Department expanded its network of Centers of Excellence (CoEs) to six, adding a new institute in Gujarat this year. These centers provide critical training on drone surveys, GIS, and modern land laws.

S.No.	Name of CoE	Jurisdiction (States/UTs)
1	YASHADA, Pune	Maharashtra, MP, Chhattisgarh, Goa
2	ATI, Mysore	Karnataka, Kerala, TN, AP, Telangana, Puducherry, A&N, Lakshadweep
3	ASSTC, Guwahati	Assam, NE States (Tripura, Manipur, etc.)
4	MGSIPA, Punjab	Punjab, Haryana, HP, J&K, Chandigarh, Ladakh
5	LBSNAA, Mussoorie	UP, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Jharkhand, WB, Odisha
6	DISRA, Gandhinagar	Gujarat, Rajasthan, Delhi, D&NH, D&D

 

8. Financial Discipline

For FY 2025-26, nearly 60% of the budget was utilized by mid-November, reflecting the accelerated pace of implementation.

 

2. Watershed Development Component of Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (WDC- PMKSY)

 

1. Watershed Development Component of Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (WDC-PMKSY): The scheme has a Central Share of Rs. 8,134 crore for development of rainfed and degraded lands for a period from 2021-22 to 2025-26. The target area of WDC-PMKSY 2.0 (49.50 Lakh ha; corresponding to the Central Share of Rs 8,134 crore) was allocated to States/UTs and Department sanctioned 1220 projects covering an area of 52.93 lakh ha at a total cost of Rs. 12,972.86 crore (Rs. 8,487.97 crore as Central share) to 28 States and UTs (J&K and Ladakh). A cumulative amount of Rs. 5576 crore of Central fund has been released to States/UTs under WDC-PMKSY 2.0.

 

2. The Department has sanctioned additional 70 watershed projects to 10 States based on the performance.

 

3. The achievements have been as follows (01.04.2025 to 30.09.2025) :

• 17,237 Water harvesting structures created / rejuvenated

• 35,882 ha Additional area brought under protective irrigation in hectares

• 4.86 lakh Farmers benefitted

• 13,953 ha Plantation (afforestation/ horticulture) done

 

4. Watershed Yatra: A mass outreach campaign titled “Watershed Yatra” was conducted during February 2025 to May, 2025, to create awareness (जनजागृति) about the Watershed Development activities carried out under WDC-PMKSY 2.0 and to generate people’s participation (जनभागीदारी) in project areas.

 

The Watershed Yatra was organized in 26 states and 2 Union Territories. The activities included bhoomi poojan of new woks, lokarpan of completed works, administering of bhoomi aur jal sanrakshan pledge, shramdaan, watershed ki panchayat, Watershed Janbhagidari Cup etc. The Yatra which was held in 2045 locations saw 10,432 lokarpan, 3,769 bhoomi poojan, shramdan at 1902 locations, plantation of 2,18,661 saplings and an overall footfall of more than 8.5 lakh people. Learning Management System (LMS) for Watershed Development has been developed and participated by 10,557 participants.

 

The Yatra has helped in dramatically increasing people’s participation in the implementation of the scheme.

 

Watershed Janbhagidari Cup

To sustain the momentum of the Watershed Yatra, the Watershed Janbhagidari Cup was launched to foster community ownership and healthy competition among watershed projects.

Over 250 non-profit organisations have been engaged, and about 1,958 works are being undertaken through Janbhagidari at an estimated cost of ₹55.91 crore.

5. Watershed Mahotsav:  On 11th November 2025, a nationwide campaign titled “Watershed Mahotsav” was launched by the Union Minister of Rural Development, in the presence of the Minister of State for Rural Development & Communications, to further strengthen public participation in watershed initiatives. Activities included award distribution under the Watershed Janbhagidari Cup, Lokarpan, Bhumi Pujan, Shramdaan, plantation drives, and the launch of Mission Watershed Punarutthan for repair and maintenance of earlier watershed assets. A Social Media Competition was also introduced to enhance outreach and visibility.

 

6. Springshed Development activities: More than 4595 Springs have been identified by the 15 States for development under WDC-PMKSY 2.0 wherein 3357 Springs have already been rejuvenated resulting in major improvement in discharge volume and period of availability of Spring water.

 

7. Under the World Bank aided REWARD program, draft National Technical Guidelines for next generation watershed projects have been finalized. It aims at integrating new age technologies like Land Resource Inventory (LRI), Hydrology and Decision Support System (DSS) based on digital soil mapping for scientific watershed planning and execution.

 

8. A proposal of EFC Memo for next phase of the WDC-PMKSY 3.0 has been prepared with a total cost of Rs. 16253 cr. (Central share of Rs.10938 cr.) for taking up of conventional watershed projects plus some innovative components to be implemented outside watershed project areas such as (i) Development of 15,000 Springs (ii) Rejuvenation of rivers / streams that are on the verge of drying up or have dried up to be taken up in 8 Major States and (iii) Rejuvenation of Water bodies (including Traditional Water bodies) - to address the need of development of drought prone and rainfed areas not covered under the conventional watershed project. Extensive discussions and consultations with all the relevant stake holders i.e. State Governments, research institutes /relevant scientific organizations, ICAR Institutes, public /Pvt. sector agencies, relevant reputed NGOs have been undertaken in connection with preparation of proposed EFC memo of WDC-PMKSY 3.0.

 

9. The importance of Natural Farming is strongly emphasized at the national level. Considering that the objectives of Natural Farming are closely aligned with the goals of soil health conservation, ecosystem restoration, and sustainable land management, the Department proposed to promote Natural Farming on a pilot basis in about 50,000 hectares under the proposed WDC-PMKSY 3.0, as a strategic intervention towards climate-resilient and sustainable agriculture.

 

10.  A two-day National Watershed Conference was organised on 10–11 November 2025 at Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, to review the progress of WDC–PMKSY 2.0 and deliberate on the roadmap for future watershed programmes beyond 2026.

 

11. National Conference on Land Resource Inventory (LRI) for Sustainable Watershed Management held during 3–5 June 2025.

 

12. International Conference on “Watershed Resilience: Integrating Science, Sustainability, and Society”, organised during 26–28 November 2025 at Bengaluru under the World Bank-assisted REWARD Programme, with participation from global experts, national institutions, State Governments, and civil society organisations.

The initiatives undertaken during 2025 reinforce the Government’s commitment to sustainable watershed management, climate resilience, community participation, and long-term water security for rural India.