Year- End Review 2025: Department of Land Resources

1. At a Glance

Department of Land Resources (DoLR) under the Ministry of Rural Development implements two flagship programmes: DILRMP (digitisation of land records) and WDC-PMKSY 2.0 (watershed development). [S1][S2]
Land governance is a State subject (Schedule VII, List II, Entry 18), so DoLR works in cooperative-federal mode with States/UTs. [S2]
2025 marked roll-out of Landstack, scaling of NAKSHA urban survey, and consolidation of ULPIN ("Bhu-Aadhaar") as the unique land-parcel identifier. [S1][S2][S3]

PIB Year-End Review 2025 (released 01 Jan 2026) consolidated DoLR's progress on DILRMP, NAKSHA, Landstack and WDC-PMKSY 2.0. [S1]
Landstack pilot launched in Tamil Nadu and Chandigarh; Glossary of Revenue Terms released. [S1][S2]
Nationwide "Watershed Mahotsav" launched in November 2025, preceded by "Watershed Yatra" (Feb–May 2025). [S1]

2008: DILRMP launched (originally NLRMP); rebranded DILRMP in 2016 as a Central Sector Scheme. [S2]
2014–15: Integrated Watershed Management Programme (IWMP) subsumed under PMKSY as its Watershed Development Component (WDC-PMKSY 1.0). [S2]
2021: ULPIN/Bhu-Aadhaar rolled out — 14-digit alphanumeric ID based on geo-coordinates, compliant with ECCMA and OGC standards. [S3]
2021–26: WDC-PMKSY 2.0 approved for rainfed/degraded lands. [S2]
2024–25: NAKSHA urban cadastral pilot launched in 157 ULBs. [S1][S2]
2025: Landstack GIS pilot launched; WDC-PMKSY 3.0 under proposal. [S1][S2]

Parent Ministry: Ministry of Rural Development; Department: Department of Land Resources. [S1]
Schemes: (i) DILRMP — Central Sector Scheme; (ii) WDC-PMKSY 2.0 — Centrally Sponsored. [S1][S2]
ULPIN: 14-digit alphanumeric parcel ID; coined "Aadhaar for Land"; adopted in 29 States/UTs. [S1][S3]
Digitally signed RoR: citizens of 19 States can now download legally valid land records. [S1]
NAKSHA: aerial survey in 116 ULBs (87% of target) covering ~5,915 sq km; ground-truthing in 72 ULBs; 100% done in 21 cities. [S2]
Landstack: pilots in Tamil Nadu & Chandigarh; deployed in 17 States/UTs (Punjab, Maharashtra, HP etc.). [S2]
WDC-PMKSY 2.0: 1,220 projects, area 52.93 lakh ha, cost ₹12,972.86 cr (Centre ₹8,487.97 cr) across 28 States/UTs; ₹5,576 cr Central funds released cumulatively. [S1][S2]
WDC-PMKSY 3.0 (proposed): outlay ₹16,253 cr (Centre ₹10,938 cr); includes 15,000 springs, river/stream and water-body rejuvenation. [S2]

Administrative / Federal: Land is a State subject; DoLR funds and standard-sets while States execute — explains uneven ULPIN adoption (29/36 UTs). [S2][S3]
Technological: NAKSHA uses modern aerial survey + feature extraction; ULPIN uses geo-coordinates of parcel vertices; Landstack is a GIS-based interoperable platform integrating Revenue, Survey, Registration and ULB data. [S2][S3]
Economic: Digitally signed RoR cuts transaction costs, eases bank credit against land; Landstack designed to curb benami transactions. [S1][S2]
Environmental: WDC-PMKSY targets rainfed/degraded areas; 3.0 adds spring-shed and river rejuvenation — aligns with climate-resilient agriculture and SDG 6 & 15. [S2]
Governance / Ethics: Single source of truth reduces litigation (≈66% of Indian civil disputes are land-related — a recurring DoLR claim); Glossary of Revenue Terms standardises tenurial vocabulary across States. [S1]

Feb–May 2025: Watershed Yatra — nationwide outreach. [S1]
2025: NAKSHA & Landstack National Symposium hosted by DoLR. [S2]
Nov 2025: Watershed Mahotsav launched. [S1]
31 Dec 2025: Landstack pilot launched in Tamil Nadu and Chandigarh; Glossary of Revenue Terms released. [S1][S2]
01 Jan 2026: PIB Year-End Review 2025 issued. [S1]

DoLR is under the Ministry of Rural Development, not Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs. [S1]
DILRMP is a Central Sector scheme launched 2008, renamed in 2016. [S2]
ULPIN = 14-digit alphanumeric code; nicknamed Bhu-Aadhaar / "Aadhaar for Land". [S1][S3]
ULPIN complies with ECCMA and OGC geospatial standards. [S3]
Digitally signed RoR available in 19 States (2025). [S1]
NAKSHA pilot covers 157 ULBs. [S1]
Landstack piloted in Tamil Nadu and Chandigarh in 2025. [S1]
WDC-PMKSY 2.0 cumulative Central release: ₹5,576 crore. [S1]
Watershed Yatra: Feb–May 2025; Watershed Mahotsav: Nov 2025. [S1]
WDC-PMKSY originated from merger of IWMP under PMKSY (2015). [S2]
Proposed WDC-PMKSY 3.0 outlay: ₹16,253 cr, includes 15,000 springs rejuvenation. [S2]
Land falls under State List, Entry 18. [S2]

GS-II: Government policies/interventions; cooperative federalism (Centre-State land governance).
GS-III: Agriculture (watershed, rainfed areas), e-Governance (digitisation), inclusive growth.
Probable stems: 1. "Digitisation of land records is a precondition for ease of doing business and equitable agrarian reform. Examine in light of DILRMP and ULPIN." 2. "Discuss how WDC-PMKSY 2.0 addresses the twin challenges of land degradation and rainfed agriculture." 3. "Land being a State subject limits the pace of land record modernisation. Critically evaluate with reference to NAKSHA and Landstack."

SVAMITVA Scheme (MoPR) — abadi-area drone survey; complements NAKSHA's ULB focus.
PM Gati Shakti — uses GIS land layers; intersects with Landstack.
PMKSY (other components) — Har Khet Ko Pani, Per Drop More Crop (under DoA/DoWR).
DAY-NRLM & MGNREGA — converge with watershed works.
Forest Rights Act 2006 & FRA-Atlas — tenurial recognition.
Registration Act 1908 / Transfer of Property Act 1882 — statutory backdrop to NGDRS.
Digital India Programme (MeitY) — umbrella for digitally signed documents.
Aspirational Districts Programme — many watershed projects overlap.

Wrong ministry: DoLR is under Rural Development, not Housing & Urban Affairs (despite NAKSHA being urban). [S1]
ULPIN length: It is 14-digit alphanumeric, not 12-digit (Aadhaar) nor numeric only. [S3]
NAKSHA ≠ SVAMITVA: NAKSHA = urban ULB cadastral mapping (DoLR); SVAMITVA = rural abadi (Ministry of Panchayati Raj).
WDC-PMKSY is implemented by DoLR, while other PMKSY components (AIBP, HKKP, PDMC) sit with Jal Shakti / Agriculture. [S2]
DILRMP is Central Sector (100% Centre), not Centrally Sponsored.
Land is a State subject (Entry 18, List II), not Concurrent. [S2]

[S1] Year-End Review 2025: Department of Land Resources — https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2210412 — (tier: 1)
[S2] DoLR Year-End Review 2025 (PDF, dord.gov.in) and DoLR Symposium on NAKSHA & LandStack — https://www.dord.gov.in/static/uploads/2026/01/7cbf739993eac27ffeea2a392358552a.pdf ; https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2198259 — (tier: 1)
[S3] Bhumi Samvaad IV / ULPIN PIB notes — https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=1905655 ; https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1932867 — (tier: 1)