Bhu-Aadhaar: Delhi land parcels set to get their own 14-digit identifiers

To generate the Unique Land Parcel Identification Number, the government will obtain high-quality geospatial data and drone images from the Survey of India.

The Delhi government on Sunday announced that it will issue a unique 14-digit identification number for every parcel of land in the Capital in, what it said was, a bid to modernise land records and free citizens from long-standing land disputes.

The SVAMITVA scheme uses drone-based surveys to provide legal ownership of rural residential land through property cards. (Representative image)

To generate the Unique Land Parcel Identification Number (ULPIN), the government will obtain high-quality geospatial data and drone images from the Survey of India, said a statement released by the chief minister’s office (CMO).

“Through this data, accurate ULPINs will be generated for all areas of Delhi, including 48 villages already covered under the Centre’s SVAMITVA scheme,” it said.

Launched in April 2020, the SVAMITVA scheme —implemented by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj with support from Survey of India and NICSI — uses drone-based surveys to provide legal ownership of rural residential land through property cards.

Instead of navigating multiple documents to establish land ownership, the unique identity number will then provide comprehensive details of the property, including ownership, size and longitudinal and latitudinal details.

A pilot project has already been completed in Tilangpur Kotla village in West Delhi district, where 274 ULPIN records have been generated, officials said.

The Bhu-Aadhaar initiative is part of the Union government’s Digital India Land Records Modernisation Programme (DILRMP) launched in 2016.

“Although the Central Government introduced the scheme in 2016, it could not be implemented in Delhi as envisaged due to various reasons,” Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said, adding that the need to implement this system in national capital .

Describing it as an “Aadhaar for land”, Gupta said it is a “powerful digital instrument against corruption and land disputes” by ensuring a complete digital account of every inch of land.

The 14-digit code will be georeferenced, thereby minimising disputes over land boundaries. It will facilitate coordination of land data among various government departments and effectively curb fraudulent transactions and multiple registrations, she added.

In 2016, Centre had allocated ₹13.207 million for the project, with financial management overseen by the IT branch of the revenue department. The government will now expand the system across Delhi in a phased manner under a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) with defined timelines. The timelines, however, have yet to be decided, officials said.