The Punjab government today said it targets to put entire land records in the state on website and complete record digitisation by March-end.

"We have targeted to complete computerisation of land records and put the record online by March 31," Punjab Revenue Secretary Anurag Verma said here.

The Punjab government has roped in Microsoft as the technology partner for developing applications for putting the entire record on website. Besides, it has also engaged CMS Limited for the digitisation of records.

The computerisation of land records will help the state to achieve twin objectives of eliminating corruption in land deals as well as boosting the state exchequer.

"The land records digitisation is a much needed step in streamlining the entire system pertaining to buying and selling of land in the state...besides it will certainly curb the corruption at lower level," Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India (CREDAI) (Punjab unit) General Secretary Amardeep Singh Heera said.

Currently, land deals in Punjab is fraught with serious risks involving cases of land grabbing and cheating by unscrupulous people with the collusion of certain lower rank revenue officials by manually amending the records themselves.

Several cases have come up in the state in which especially non-resident Indians (NRIs) have complained of their land grabbed by land mafia operating in the state.

"With the digitisation of land records and being accessible on website, cases of cheating in property deals and bribing revenue officials for getting details regarding property information could be curtailed to a great extent," property experts pointed out.

Punjab government has so far put land records of 1,200 villages on website to allow people to access 'Jamabandi', 'Mutation', etc.

"The records of remaining 11,600 villages will also be done within the targeted time," said Verma.

The state has also opened 65 'Fard Kendras' covering 2,822 villages and planned to have 91 more such kendras in future.

"Revenue record like Jamabandi register, Mutation register, Roznamcha register of all the villages falling within that Tehsil, Sub-Tehsil will be stored in digital form at that Fard Kendra and anybody who wants copy of his Jamabandi, Mutation can go to the Kendra and obtain that copy across the counter, instead of running after revenue officials (Patwari)," said Verma.