President conferred Bhoomi Samman 2023

Tags: Awards National News

On July 18, 2023, Indian President Draupadi Murmu presented the "Bhoomi Samman" 2023 at a function organized by the Union Ministry of Rural Development at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi.

An Overview of the news:

• The awards were received by the State Secretaries and District Collectors along with their teams who have shown excellence in achieving completion of major components of the Digital India Land Records Modernization Program (DILRMP).

Honor to the secretaries of nine states and officers of 68 districts:

• Officers of the team of total 68 districts including nine secretaries of Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Bihar, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Tripura and West Bengal were honored at the Bhoomi Samman-2023 function held at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.

Most awards to Odisha and Madhya Pradesh:

• Among these, 57 officers from 19 districts of Odisha, 35 officers from 15 districts of Madhya Pradesh, who received maximum awards, were awarded Bhoomi Samman by the President.

Digital India Land Records Modernization Program (DILRMP):

• DILRMP was launched by the Union Ministry of Panchayati Raj in August 2008 for the digitization of land records.

Objective of DILRMP:

• Modernization of land records management,
• To reduce the scope of land/property disputes,
• Increase transparency in the land records maintenance system and
• To facilitate eventual move towards guaranteed adjudication rights for immovable properties in the country.

Main components of DILRMP:

• Change of land ownership;
• Digitization of maps and integration of curriculum and spatial data;
• Survey/Re-survey and
• Computerization of all land records including original land records.

Rural development is necessary for overall development:

• Speaking on the occasion, President Murmu said that it was necessary to accelerate rural development for the overall development of the country, as the livelihood of the majority of the rural population depended on land resources.
• Transparency will increase with the digitization of a comprehensive integrated land management system in rural areas.

Benefits to come:

• Digitization of land records and its linkage with various government departments will help in proper implementation of welfare schemes.
• Now this document will be protected from damages caused by calamities like flood and fire.
• This will reduce the time wasted by the administration and the judiciary in disputes related to the land of a large population of the country.
• Through digitization and information connectivity, the energy of people and institutions, which used to be spent in resolving disputes, will now be used for development.

Land Parcel Identification Number:

• Under the Digital India Land Information Management System, a unique Land Parcel Identification Number is being provided, which can be used like an Aadhaar card.
• This number will be helpful in making and implementing new welfare schemes along with proper use of land.
• Linking e-courts with the land records and registration data-base would have many benefits.
• Digitization of land will bring transparency in administration.
• Unethical and illegal activities related to land will be curbed.
• Now getting land related information in a free and convenient way will have many other benefits.