Record digitization will spell landmark progress

Digitized land records should boost infrastructure development as the Gati Shakti platform makes use of this data while title clarity could give the poor a better chance to escape poverty

In a landmark development, the digital land records of 13 major states and four Union territories (UTS) have been loaded onto the government's platform for coordinating infrastructure building between central ministries, states and UTS under the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan. With this, data from only six states-Himachal Pradesh, West Bengal, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Nagaland and Meghalaya-and the UT of Lakshadweep remain to be digitally integrated. Once complete, Gati Shakti will save time and costs on project implementation, as it provides easy data access to stakeholders. Announced in 2021, Gati Shakti is an ambitious scheme to ensure multimodal connectivity across the country. It covers everything from roads to railways and aviation to agriculture, with various ministries and departments in the loop. The idea is to "break departmental silos and institutionalize holistic planning for stakeholders across major infrastructure projects," in the government's words.