State to introduce QR codes on land ownership docus for instant verification

Bhubaneswar: Land ownership documents in Odisha will soon carry QR codes, enabling buyers and govt officials to instantly verify past ownership details, location, and transaction history, revenue and disaster management minister Suresh Pujari said here on Thursday.Pujari said each land patta (record of rights) will feature a QR code that, when scanned, will display the property’s full profile, including its location, map, and purchase history. At present, buyers depend on tehsil offices for an encumbrance certificate (EC), which provides a 30-year record of registered transactions such as sales, mortgages, or liens linked to a specific property.“The QR scan will offer historical data beyond the EC’s 30-year window, helping buyers verify the land’s current status.

This is expected to curb fraudulent sales and reduce litigation, and will end the need for ECs while buying land,” Pujari said.The minister said the digitally generated records will be tamper-proof. Any illegal modification to the updated RoR will trigger alerts to revenue inspectors and tehsildars. The RoRs will carry information such as ownership details, land classification, usage, irrigation status, and a parcel map showing dimensions and adjoining plots.

Govt sources said the initiative is part of the Centre’s Digital India Land Records Modernisation Programme (DILRMP), a fully centrally funded scheme launched in 2016. The programme mandates digitally signed land records, and several states have already begun issuing digital RoRs with QR codes for authentication.While Odisha has largely digitised land records under DILRMP, the introduction of QR-coded pattas marks the next phase of land reforms.Pujari said a comprehensive land survey will be undertaken across the state to assess the extent of govt and private land. A consolidated database will also be prepared, capturing details of land allotted by various govt departments and its current utilisation, to improve land management and accountability.The survey will integrate 3 layers of data—spatial data from high-resolution satellite imagery and aerial photography, maps from the Survey of India and the Forest Survey of India, and revenue data from cadastral (official, scaled, and detailed) maps and RoRs—onto a unified GIS platform.Each plot is represented on the digital map as a closed polygon identified by a unique plot number. These plot numbers will be linked with the RoR database to synchronise map data with textual land records. A QR scan will provide access to both the digital map of the plot and its RoR details.