Land records system, meant to bring transparency in J&K, offline since Operation Sindoor
J&K land records system offline: Launched with much fanfare in 2021 after five years of work, the Land Records Information System was an online portal to digitise and provide public access to land and property records. But the system has been down since the first week of May, prompting questions over digital preparedness and administrative accountability.
3 min readSrinagarUpdated: Jan 1, 2026 02:45 PM IST
As part of the programme, nearly eight crore pages of revenue records and over 55,000 maps were scanned and digitised. However, since the first week of May this year, the website has remained offline, rendering years of digitisation work redundant.
Jammu Kashmir Land Records Information System: Launched in 2021 by Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha as an “important milestone towards providing most transparent and accountable services,” the ‘Aapki Zameen, Aapki Nigrani’ Land Records Information System has been inaccessible since Operation Sindoor in May this year, prompting questions over digital preparedness and administrative accountability.
The Land Records Information System is among several official government portals that went offline during the operation and are yet to be restored. Months later, the concerned departments and the Jammu and Kashmir e-Governance Agency have failed to bring these websites back online, triggering a blame game between government departments.
Managed by J&K’s Revenue Department, the Land Records Information System was an online public portal created by the revenue department to digitise and provide public access to land and property records and, among other things, provides access to land maps. Developed under the Digital India Land Records Modernisation Programme, the website was launched in 2021 after five years of work.
As part of the programme, nearly eight crore pages of revenue records and over 55,000 maps were scanned and digitised. However, since the first week of May this year, the website has remained offline, rendering years of digitisation work redundant.
“As the public access to the website has been cut-off, the main purpose of digitisation of land records and transparency has been lost,” said a senior revenue official. “The entire burden is back on the revenue officials now since the services are not available online.”
Several other official portals have also been down since May, including that of Srinagar Smart City Limited. In August, responding to an RTI query, the Jammu and Kashmir e-Governance Agency confirmed that 90 government portals were offline. While most have since been restored, some key websites, including the Land Records Information System, remain inaccessible.
An official of the Jammu and Kashmir e-Governance Agency said that over a hundred government portals went offline in May, but most are now functional. He blamed departments for failing to comply with guidelines required for restoration.
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“After the sites went offline, there was a security audit and many loopholes were found,” he said. “The sites that are still offline are because they have failed to secure the mandatory ‘Safe Host’ certification.”
He added that departments which have “plugged the loopholes” and obtained the certification have had their portals restored.
Bashaarat Masood is a Special Correspondent with The Indian Express. He has been covering Jammu and Kashmir, especially the conflict-ridden Kashmir valley, for two decades. Bashaarat joined The Indian Express after completing his Masters in Mass Communication and Journalism from the University in Kashmir. He has been writing on politics, conflict and development. Bashaarat was awarded with the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards in 2012 for his stories on the Pathribal fake encounter.
Expertise and Experience
Two Decades of Frontline Reporting: Bashaarat has spent 20 years documenting the evolution of Kashmir, from high-intensity conflict and political shifts to socio-economic development.
Award-Winning Investigative Journalism: He is a recipient of the prestigious Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award (2012). This honor was bestowed for his reporting on the Pathribal fake encounter, a series of stories that highlighted his ability to handle sensitive human rights and security issues with investigative rigor.
Specialized Beats: His authoritative coverage spans:
Political Transitions: Tracking the shift from statehood to Union Territory, electoral dynamics, and the pulse of local governance.
Security & Conflict: Providing nuanced reporting on counter-insurgency, civil liberties, and the impact of the conflict on the civilian population.
Development: Documenting the infrastructure, healthcare, and educational landscape within the Valley.
Academic Background: He holds a Masters in Mass Communication and Journalism from the University of Kashmir, providing him with a localized academic and professional foundation that is rare in regional reporting. ... Read More
