In News

  • The Prime Minister has launched the physical distribution of property cards under Survey of Villages and Mapping with Improvised Technology (Svamitva) scheme.

  • The launch will enable around one lakh property holders to download their property cards through an SMS link sent on their mobile phones.

  • This would be followed by the physical distribution of property cards by respective state governments.

  • The scheme’s pilot project is being implemented in 763 villages from Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Karnataka.

 

About: Survey of Villages and Mapping with Improvised Technology (Svamitva) scheme

  • Svamitva is a Central Sector Scheme of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, which was launched by the Prime Minister on National Panchayati Raj Day, 24th April 2020.

  • The scheme aims to provide the ‘record of rights’ to village household owners in rural areas and issue property cards.

  • These cards are physical copies of property titles of the villagers’ homes and the area surrounding their respective houses (as opposed to cultivated land).

  • Mapping of all 6.62 lakh villages in the country will be done by the Survey of India with a very low estimated error margin of plus-minus five centimetres. The target is to complete the exercise in four years (2020-2024).

  • The states will implement the scheme using state laws under the Panchayati Raj or Revenue Act, and can decide on the type of card to be distributed.

Benefits:

  • Experts across the world have stressed that property ownership rights play a big role in a country’s development.

  • The cards will now help the villagers to use property as a financial asset for taking loans and other financial benefits, and end disputes among villagers over land ownership.

  • It will help in strengthening the Panchayati Raj system and will also make village management easier for gram panchayats in a systematic way like municipalities and municipal corporations.

  • Moreover, development related work in the village will also become easier, due to accurate land records.

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