Noida will digitize 13 lakh land records between 2002 and 2017 to prevent loss and theft.

NOIDA: The Uttar Pradesh government has issued an order directing the Gautam Budh Nagar administration to digitize all land records from 2002.

The Uttar Pradesh government has directed the Gautam Budh Nagar administration to digitalize all land records dating back to 2002.

Kanchan Verma, inspector general of stamps and registration, has directed the district administration to convene a meeting with sub-registrars and devise a plan for scanning and digitizing over 13 lakh land records in a “smooth, safe, and time-bound manner” by Tuesday.

Verma stated in his letter that the government began work on digitizing land records between 2002 and 2017. “The 13,08,449 land record files in Gautam Budh Nagar require digitization. In addition, the government has authorized 51 computers, 17 scanners, and other equipment for this work.”

The digitization will also take place under the surveillance of CCTV cameras. According to officials, the staff will also be provided deadlines to digitize a certain number of files per day in order to complete the project.

Land-related disputes are estimated to account for two-thirds of all pending court cases in the district. Land disputes include those involving the validity of land titles and records, as well as rightful ownership.

The digitization of records will benefit residents because certified copies of property documents are required in the event of loss or theft, as well as in court.

“The digitization of land records will immensely help people,” said PPS Nagar, an advocate who deals with property sale and purchase deeds. The registrar’s office in Noida is currently partially digitized. We can easily obtain certified copies of documents registered in recent years, but obtaining copies of older documents is a time-consuming process.”

The digitization work will be completed in one year, according to Shyam Singh Bisen, head of Noida’s stamp and registration department. “We’re putting together the infrastructure for digitization projects,” he explained.

Since 2011, the stamp and registration department has kept digital documents, while documents registered prior to that time must be digitized.

In the last six years, Noida’s stamp and registration department has failed to meet annual targets. It collected Rs 1,761 crore against a target of Rs 2,222 crore in 2016-17; Rs 1,685 crore against a target of Rs 2,252 crore in 2017-18; and Rs 1,879 crore against a target of Rs 2,532 crore in 2018-19.

Similarly, in 2019-20, the department earned Rs 1,856 crore as opposed to Rs 2,597 crore. Because of the Covid outbreak, its revenue fell dramatically in 2020-21, falling to Rs 1,593 crore from Rs 3,148 crore.

In 2021-22, registration increased, and revenue collection reached Rs 2,377 crore against a target of Rs 3,463 crore. In the fiscal year 2022-23, the department earned Rs 1,887 crore until November 2022, compared to the annual target of Rs 4,062 crore.