Odisha Plans Digital Overhaul of Property Registration System Under NGDRS

Bhubaneswar: Odisha is planning to modernise its land and property registration system through the National Generic Document Registration System (NGDRS), with a focus on simplifying procedures, improving transparency and providing faster, citizen-friendly services.

A high-level meeting was held at Lok Seva Bhawan under the chairmanship of Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari with the Software Development Unit of the National Informatics Centre (NIC), Pune, to discuss the implementation and modernisation of the system in the State.

During the meeting, the Minister stressed the need to make property registration more transparent, efficient and technology-driven. The discussions focused on streamlining registration procedures, improving service delivery, enhancing the efficiency of registration offices and strengthening accountability.

NGDRS is a national initiative of the Department of Land Resources under the Union Ministry of Rural Development. Based on the concept of ‘One Nation, One Registration’, the system offers a digital platform that can be customised to meet the rules and requirements of individual States.

Under the system, citizens can access online services such as document preparation, property valuation, calculation of stamp duty and registration fees, online payment, appointment scheduling and application status tracking. These facilities are expected to reduce repeated visits to registration offices, minimise procedural errors and help prevent unnecessary delays.

The meeting also discussed bringing various functions of Sub-Registrar Offices under a unified digital framework. These include application scrutiny, identity verification, biometric authentication, digital approval of documents, record preservation and post-registration services.

The use of digital dashboards was also considered to help senior officials monitor registration progress, pending cases and the performance of individual offices.

Further technological upgrades, including data analytics, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Geographic Information System (GIS) and integration with land records, were discussed as part of the proposed modernisation. The adoption of these features will be taken up in phases, depending on the State’s requirements, policy decisions and technological preparedness.

The government also discussed beginning implementation in selected registration offices before gradually expanding the system across Odisha. The Minister emphasised the need to study successful implementations in other States to identify suitable practices for the State.

The proposed initiative is part of the Revenue Department’s efforts to use digital technology to improve public service delivery and make registration-related processes more accessible and accountable.

The meeting was attended by Revenue and Disaster Management Department Additional Chief Secretary Dr Arabinda Kumar Padhee, Inspector General of Registration P. Anwesha Reddy, NIC Pune Deputy Director General Rajesh Bhusari and other senior officials.