Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh, RK Mathur launched the Unique Land Parcel Identification Number (ULPIN) in Ladakh on January 20 at Raj Niwas.

Chairman, LAHDC Kargil, Feroz Ahmed Khan; Chairman, LAHDC Leh, Advocate Tashi Gyalson; Secretary, Department of Land Resources, GoI, Ajay Tirkey; Additional Secretary, DoLR, Hukum Singh Meena; Joint Secretary, DoLR, Sonmoni Borah; Advisor Umang Narula; Principal Secretary, Dr Pawan Kotwal; Divisional Commissioner, Saugat Biswas; Deputy Commissioner, Leh, Shrikant Suse; Deputy Commissioner, Kargil, Santosh Sukhdeve; Assistant Commissioner Revenue, Leh, Shabbir Hussain, officials from Survey of India and beneficiaries were present during the event. 

Terming ULPIN as a ‘game changer’ and the next step in SVAMITVA for digitisation and computerisation of land revenue records, LG Mathur stressed the importance of 100 percent coverage of land revenue records in Ladakh and completing the exercise at the earliest. He emphasised the need for the saturation coverage of not only the abadi deh areas but the entire Ladakh by the Administration with the help of both the Hill Councils through its own schemes and funds.

LG Mathur shared the plans to increase the abadi-deh area in Ladakh, including carving out abadi deh areas in Wildlife Sanctuaries and National Park in Ladakh, and stated that the Administration along with both the Hill Councils will work with the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) to cover the increased abadi deh areas in Ladakh.  He stated that the UPLIN scheme would prove beneficial in numerous ways, including settling and expediting land-related disputes in court and addressing legacy issues such as putting a check on any unwanted change in land revenue records. He also stated that the scheme would also prove beneficial to farmers in availing loans from banks and also using drones to spray insecticides and pesticides on the registered lands of the farmers.

LG Mathur stated that in a hilly UT like Ladakh, the scheme would prove beneficial to collect accurate land records and land areas for hilly land to record the vertical dimension of land. He also stated that the scheme would be a blessing for industrialists and entrepreneurs and help in the overall development of Ladakh.

LG Mathur stressed the need to accurately settle land disputes with the help of computerisation and digitisation of land parcels using this scheme. He expressed his satisfaction to see Ladakh catching up with the rest of the country in the computerisation and digitisation of land parcels.   

LG Mathur handed over property cards to five beneficiaries- Phuntsog Spalzang, Padma Gyalson, Tsering Namgyal, Tundup Tashi and Phuntsog Dolma.

Chairman, LAHDC Kargil, Feroz Ahmed Khan stated that ULPIN is a much-needed scheme in Ladakh as a majority of the people residing in remote areas are unaware of land-related documents and the need to register their lands. Such ignorance, he said, is resulting in land disputes. He said the digitisation of land parcels would enable the farmers to avail loans for development works.

Chairman, LAHDC Leh, Advocate Tashi Gyalson stressed the need for the digitisation of land parcels and remaining updated with the rest of the country. He emphasised the need for a single-window system through which data becomes easily available and accessible. He said the previous practice of capturing land records on papers often resulted in the loss of information due to the wear and tear of papers. He requested for digitisation of land keeping the original/existing land record in mind.

Secretary, DoLR, Ajay Tirkey expressed his happiness to see the digitisation of land revenue records even in new Union Territories such as Ladakh. He congratulated UT Ladakh for taking the lead in the digitisation of land revenue records and stated that Ladakh is moving ahead of other states in the mainland in the digitisation/computerisation of land revenue records. Calling ULPIN a game changer, Secretary, DoLR, Ajay Tirkey highlighted some of the major features of the scheme. He also assured full support to UT Ladakh in the digitisation of land records.

Advisor Umang Narula said the digitisation of land revenue records has become possible only after Ladakh became a Union Territory. Highlighting the importance of digitisation of land revenue records, he said that the farmers are dependent on their livelihood on their land holdings. Therefore, digitisation of the land record of the farmer would enable him to avail loans from banks, he said.   

Principal Secretary Dr Pawan Kotwal briefed about the 14-digit ULPIN, its key features and benefits. He said ULPIN would help in the digitisation of land records and also in reaching a conclusive land titling.

DC Leh, Shrikant Suse, informed that 2,237 ULPIN numbers have been generated in Ladakh to date since June 2022.