Introduction

Scores of people in Jharkhand will miss the benefits of SVAMITVA Scheme as the state government led by Chief Minister Hemant Soren had ordered to stop drone survey of land records in Khunti, Jharkhand.

This will prevent landowners from remaining deprived of many development schemes. 

How?

SVAMITVA Scheme was launched by the Hon’ble Prime Minister on National Panchayati  Raj Day, 24th April 2020 with a resolve to enable the economic progress of Rural India by providing a “Record of Rights” to every property owner in the Village Abadi area. 

The scheme also aims to demarcate inhabited (Abadi) land in rural areas through the latest surveying drone and GIS technology. The scheme covers multifarious aspects viz. facilitating monetization of properties and enabling bank loans; reducing property-related disputes; comprehensive village-level planning, which would be the stepping-stone towards achieving Gram Swaraj in the true sense and making rural India Atmanirbhar. 

2. Background

2.1​  Survey of rural land in India for Settlement and record of rights had last been completed many decades back. Moreover, Abadi (inhabited) area of villages were not surveyed/ mapped in many States. Hence, no record of Rights could be created for the Village Abadi areas. 

Unsurprisingly, in the absence of a legal document/proof of ownership, the property owners in theAbadi area had not been able to access institutional credit for upgradation of their houses or getting their property as a recognized financial asset acceptable by the banks for the purpose of providing loans and other financial assistance. 

2.2​  The situation existed for more than 7 decades and demanded attention as one of the essential requirement for the speedy economic progress for a country is the legally recognized records of rights for private property. Therefore, to provide the legal records of right of the property to the household owners, it was essential to carry out a survey which would have been an extremely lengthy and tedious exercise for the Revenue Administration if done by traditional chain method or GPS method. 

Thus, it was conceptualized to utilize the latest drone survey technology for survey and mapping of the village Abadi areas. 

2.3  ​The scheme aims to provide an integrated property validation solution for rural India. The demarcation of inhabited land in rural areas would be done by the use of drone’s technology with the collaborative efforts of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, State Revenue Department, State Panchayati Raj Department and Survey of India

2.4  ​The outcome from the scheme would include creating/ updating the ‘record-of-rights’ in the revenue/property registers and issuance of property cards to the property owners. 

3. Details of Scheme

3.1 ​The Scheme is implemented with the collaborative efforts of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Department of Revenue and Department of Panchayati Raj in the States/UTs and the Survey of India

3.2​ The scheme aims to achieve the following objectives:

I. Creation of accurate Abadi area land records for rural planning and reducing property-related disputes. 
II. To bring financial stability to the citizens in rural India by enabling them to use their property as a financial asset for taking loans and other financial benefits. 
III. Determination of property tax, which would accrue to the GPs directly in States where it is devolved or else, add to the State exchequer. 
IV. Creation of survey infrastructure and GIS maps that can be leveraged by any department for their use. 
V. To support the preparation of a better-quality Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP) by making use of GIS maps.
 

4. States Involved
4.1​  31 States/UTs have on-boarded the Scheme. Of these, Sikkim, Telangana and Tamil Nadu had participated only in the pilot phase of the Scheme. Further, States of West Bengal, Bihar, Nagaland and Meghalaya have not onboarded the Scheme.

5. Process Involved

5.1  ​Broad-level implementation process flow of the scheme 

I. Signing of MoU between Survey of India and respective State Governments.
II. Identification of villages to be surveyed.
III. Sensitization of GPs/Gram Sabhas/villages through IEC activities.
IV. Demarcation of Abadi area and chuna marking (for identification of boundaries in the drone survey) of the village Abadi properties.
V. Large-scale mapping of the VillageAbadi areasusing unmanned aerial vehicles/drones.
VI. Creation of maps.
VII. Ground verification of maps by the Revenue officials.
VIII. Correction of the maps – post-ground verification.
IX. Due process of Inquiry and disposal of claims and objections as per the provisions of the rules/guidelines of the respective State Government. Time taken for inquiry and publication of records varies from State to State from 10 days to 90 days.
X. Generation of final Property Cards 

6. Status & Impact

6.1 Drone survey has been completed in 3.17 lakh villages, with completion/saturation of drone survey working the UTs of Lakshadweep, Ladakh, Delhi, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, and Daman & Diu, and the states of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh. Property Cards of all the inhabited villages of Haryana, Uttarakhand, Puducherry, Tripura, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Goa, and Tripura have been generated. 

6.2​  The SVAMITVA Scheme has a huge impact for rural India, with a direct positive impact on land governance, financial inclusion, and rural community development. Scheme has facilitated easier access to bank loans, resolving land disputes, and empowering women by securing their property rights etc

7. Case Studies

7.1  ​Few Case studies of SVAMITVA Scheme are illustrated below:

I. Dispute Resolution: Hon’ble High Court of Uttarakhand duly recognized SVAMITVA Abhilekh/Property Card and granted relief to property owners in Bheemawala village, Dehradun District against evacuation notice by Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam to remove “encroachment”
II. Women Empowerment: Smt.Kokilaben Babaji Vaghela, a woman from a rural village in Gujarat, received her SVAMITVA property card, marking a significant milestone in her life.  The property card, issued under the SVAMITVA scheme, gave her legal ownership of her ancestral residential land, empowering her to access loans and build a better future for her family. 

III. Financial Inclusion: Banks are now recognizing SVAMITVA property cards as valid collateral for asset monetization and mortgaging the property. This enables property owners to secure loans and leverage their land for financial support and development. Rajaram Gour used the SVAMITVA property card to secure a bank loan, which he used to repair his house and buy a Maruti Suzuki Ecco for his son.This income helps repay the loan while supporting the family's finances and improving access to education for local children.
IV. Increased Own Source of Revenue: The SVAMITVA Scheme has greatly benefited Ekhatpur Gram Panchayat (GP) of Pune district, Maharashtraby providing property cards to household owners, which has minimized property disputes and streamlined land ownership records. This initiative has enabled the GP to address encroachments on public spaces within the village Abadi area and resolve property-related conflicts. As a result, there has been a 25% increase in properties listed in the Property Register. The scheme has also helped identify open spaces, facilitating better planning for community development. The updated property registers, based on digital maps, have improved the GP’s own source revenue (OSR).
V. Leveraging SVAMITVA maps for Panchayat Planning: The SVAMITVA Scheme, with digitized property records, GIS maps, and high-resolution data, has made spatial planning possible forKalonda Gram Panchayats of Gautam Buddha Nagar of Uttar Pradesh. Accurate property records have reduced disputes and clarified ownership, ensuring optimal land use for various activities. GIS maps and data have enabled Panchayats to delineate boundaries, analyze land use, and plan infrastructure like roads and water supply efficiently