Why Jamabandi digitization in J&K needs more than one-off training sessions

By: Mohammad Amin Mir

In a recent move, the Revenue Department deputed 10 master trainers from each district for a two-day virtual training on digitization of Jamabandis via Web-Halris, scheduled from 29th to 30th May. The training, to be held through Nicnet, is part of the government’s ongoing push to digitize land records and bring long-overdue transparency and efficiency to the state’s revenue administration.

While this move marks yet another important milestone in the journey towards modern governance, it also raises a critical question: Is this enough? Can a couple of virtual sessions produce the kind of long-term expertise required for accurate, efficient, and corruption-resistant land record digitization? Or does the effort require a more sustained, grassroots-level capacity-building campaign?

This write-up explores the underlying challenges, the current gaps, and offers concrete suggestions for making this digitization drive not only successful but sustainable.

Jammu & Kashmir’s integration with Web-Halris—the land record information system used across several Indian states—is a commendable effort to standardize and digitize key land ownership documents such as Jamabandis. These are essentially the DNA of rural landholding patterns, and digitizing them ensures:

Elimination of tampering and unauthorized mutations

Easy access to landholding information for citizens, courts, and government departments.

Real-time monitoring of revenue records by supervisory officials

The larger vision is clear: empower citizens, protect land rights, and increase transparency. But implementation, as always, is where good policy often falters.

While the Revenue Department has rightly initiated the master training program, it is crucial to understand that virtual training sessions for a handful of master trainers per district will not, by themselves, transform the landscape.

Most patwaris, girdawars, and naib tehsildars—the frontline staff who handle land records—are not adequately trained in basic computer operations, let alone navigating complex software platforms like Web-Halris. Expecting them to quickly adapt via short online sessions is optimistic at best, and negligent at worst.

While this rightly stresses the need for adequate Nicnet availability and computer systems, the bitter truth is that many tehsil and patwar offices still operate from rented or dilapidated buildings without even a stable power supply, let alone a reliable internet connection.

This instructs each master trainer to bring “one Jamabandi of the village” for data entry during the training. But each patwari circle consists of 20 to 30 villages, and digitization requires understanding various historical notations, khasra patterns, mutation entries, and overlapping family claims. Training on a single Jamabandi sample is grossly inadequate for the complex field realities.

To ensure that the digitization drive yields meaningful outcomes, a phased and layered training model is necessary. Here’s what such a model could look like:

Phase 1: Master Trainer Bootcamps (Current Model)

Conduct week-long, in-person training sessions in each district headquarters—not just two-day virtual ones.

Focus on hands-on practice, real-time data entry, and troubleshooting common errors in Web-Halris.

Assign trainers who already have on-ground experience in land record correction and mutation auditing.

Trained master trainers should then conduct 5-day workshops at each block headquarters for patwaris, girdawars, and junior assistants.

Trainings must include daily practice exercises, error simulation, and feedback loops.

Provide printed Web-Halris user manuals in Urdu and English, tailored to the specific modules required for Jamabandi entry.

Each trained patwari must be required to digitize at least two villages manually under supervision, before being certified.

These should be reviewed by a district-level digitization audit cell to correct format errors and ensure quality.

Every six months, organize refresher training programs.

Introduce advanced modules on:

Correction of historical discrepancies in record of rights.

Handling disputed mutations and integrating court decrees.

Generating computer-based Tatima maps for sub-division of land.

The digitization effort cannot succeed unless every patwari is equipped with:

A reliable desktop computer or laptop.

High-speed internet (preferably fiber-based) through BSNL or private providers.

Online storage systems linked to district servers.

A biometric verification device for secure logins and authentic entries.

The District Development Commissioners, in coordination with the IT department, must prioritize upgradation of existing infrastructure under district capex budgets or centrally sponsored schemes.

A Suggestion for a Digital Revenue Cell in Every Tehsil

To institutionalize and support the digitization effort, each tehsil office should house a “Digital Revenue Cell” consisting of:

One junior assistant (IT qualified).

One trained patwari.

One GIS consultant on contract basis (monthly honorarium via revenue department or MGNREGA tech support funds).

This cell will act as the local troubleshooting, data quality, and training center for surrounding villages, allowing real-time assistance to field staff struggling with entries, synchronization, or system lags.

While digitization is primarily a back-end reform, its real test lies in citizen interface.

Each tehsil office should set up a “Digital Land Help Desk” where farmers and landowners can:

View their Web-Halris Jamabandi entries.

Submit correction applications.

Request mutation status tracking.

Awareness campaigns via   social media Panchayats, and WhatsApp groups should educate citizens on how to access their land records online, the risks of unauthorized mutations, and the benefits of accurate digitization.

In a district revenue officer will initiate a pilot model where each patwari will be given given a 7-day digitization mission, supervised by the girdawar and reviewed by a retired revenue officer. The result?

Many villages will be digitized in less than a month with minimal errors.

A WhatsApp group must be used to share screenshots of entries and resolve issues live.

Farmers be invited to verify Jamabandis before final upload.

This model of accountability + community validation can be replicated across Kashmir.

For digitization to succeed, there must be accountability and motivation.

Offer performance-based incentives to patwaris who complete quality digitization of 10+ villages.

Introduce a monthly audit dashboard visible to Divisional Commissioners and Secretary Revenue.

Enforce penalties for absenteeism, data manipulation, or careless entry that causes legal disputes.

The circular issued on  is a step in the right direction—but only a small one. To transform the digitization of Jamabandis from a bureaucratic exercise into a generational reform, we need a massive investment in capacity-building. Virtual trainings, while useful, cannot substitute real-time field-based handholding.

Just as a farmer cannot plough a field merely by watching a YouTube video, a patwari cannot digitize Jamabandi merely by attending a two-day session. What’s needed is consistent, layered, and practical exposure, backed by robust infrastructure and proactive leadership.

Only then can Web-Halris become not just another software, but a symbol of a transparent, efficient, and citizen-friendly land governance system in Jammu and Kashmir.

Author is a legal and policy columnist specializing in land governance and administrative reforms in Jammu & Kashmir.