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New Delhi: State governments have issued as many as 1.32 crore property cards in 2.55 lakh villages across the country as of 7 June, giving people ownership documents for their property, ThePrint has learnt.
These cards are being issued under the central government’s Survey of Villages and Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas (SVAMITVA) Yojana, which creates a Record-of-Rights (RoR) for inhabited areas (as opposed to agricultural land) in villages — data that most states don’t have.
The Survey of India — the central agency for mapping — is preparing maps using drones and information provided by state governments about property owners after on-field verification.
Launched in 2021, the SVAMITVA scheme is also meant to address land-related disputes, help villagers take bank loans against their properties and aid gram panchayats in preparing development plans and collecting property tax.
The yojana is being implemented in 3.72 lakh notified villages out of 6.62 lakh villages in 31 states and Union Territories (UTs). West Bengal, Bihar, Meghalaya and Nagaland didn’t participate in the scheme, nor did Chandigarh, which doesn’t have any villages.
The Ministry of Panchayati Raj, which is implementing the scheme together with state governments, has already mapped 69 percent of the notified villages, and plans to complete the drone surveys by March next year.
Detailing the process involved, a senior ministry official said, “The drone survey is complete in nine states and UTs and work is on to finalise the maps. These are: Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Goa, Haryana, Delhi, Puducherry, Lakshadweep, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu.
“There are around six states where the drone survey is in advanced stages. We plan to complete it for the preparation of draft maps of the inhabited area by March 2024.
“After that, the states will require a year’s time to complete the on-ground verification and provide detailed information about property owners. States issue property cards on the basis of updated maps,” the official said.
Uttar Pradesh has issued the highest number of property cards (57.26 lakh in 39,823 villages) followed by Haryana (25.90 lakh in 6,260 villages), and Madhya Pradesh (20.89 lakh in 16,797 villages).
While nine states and UTs have completed the survey, just 14 villages remain to be surveyed in Uttar Pradesh, officials said.
On the other hand, the governments of three states backed out after a handful of villages were surveyed, according to a senior ministry official.
In several other states — including Karnataka, Kerala, Mizoram, Manipur and Tripura — less than 25 percent of the villages have been surveyed using drones.
“We plan to complete the drone flying, which is used for capturing images to prepare maps, by March 2024. It will take almost a year after the aerial survey to verify the maps and issue property cards. The aim is to complete the work under the scheme by March 2025,” said another senior ministry official.
The scheme was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in April 2021 after a pilot project was carried out in nine states: Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Andhra Pradesh.
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How it helps people, government
In the case of agricultural land, state authorities record ownership in the RoR, which provides good evidence and can be relied on by banks while disbursing loans.
But most states don’t have a record of rights for the abadi (inhabited) area. This missing data has resulted in several land disputes over the years, especially as populations grew.
The second official said, “For decades, people couldn’t take a loan against their residential property in villages. But now, it is helping them monetise their land and avail bank loans against the property. It is also reducing property-related disputes, as the coordinates of the property are mentioned in the property card.”
The data is also being used by some gram panchayats to collect property tax, resulting in an increase in their income. The official said, “A gram panchayat in Pune reported a 16 percent rise in property tax assessed due to the identification of ownership of vacant land.”
“In Srinagar and Mizoram, the authorities have notified land valuation rates for the abadi area for the purpose of land revenue assessment, tax assessment, etc.,” added the official.
Officials say that the data is also being used to plan infrastructure development.
Use of drones & new eco-system
The Survey of India is using drones and the Continuously Operating Reference Station (CORS) technology to capture images and prepare maps.
Drones are used to capture images based on details provided by the state government and marking done on the ground. “In some areas where the boundary is not clear, or to identify roads and open spaces, limestone powder (chuna) is used to do the markings on the ground. Based on the images captured, a draft map is prepared,” said the second official quoted above.
The draft map is shared with the state to verify property-wise details on the ground. The map is then updated, and the state governments use its final version to issue property cards.
“High-resolution, accurate, image-based maps have facilitated the creation of the most durable record of property holdings in these areas. Such accurate image-based maps provide a clear demarcation of land holdings in a very short time compared to on-ground physical measurement and mapping of the land parcels,” said the first official.
(Edited by Smriti Sinha)
Also read: Land records to be available in 22 languages soon, simplify pan-India sale & purchase of property
