SWAMITVA Yojana

• Objective: The Swamitva Schemeis to provide an integrated property validation solution to the rural areas of the country.
• Technology used: Under this scheme now the demarcation of inhabited land of the rural area will be done according to thelatest surveying methods using drones.
• Implementing Agency: The Panchayats of the rural areas were expecting the launch of this scheme for a long time. For the demarcation of inhabited land, the latest surveying method is Drone’s technology.
• The scheme will be carried out in close coordination with the Central Panchayati Raj ministry, Survey of India, Panchayati Raj departments and Revenue departments of various states.

• It is expected to go a long way in settling property rightsin rural hinterlands and likely to become a tool for empowerment and entitlement, reducing social strife on account of discord over properties.
• The delivery of property rights through an official document will enable villagers to access bank financeusing their property as collateral.
• The residential land in villages will be measured using drones tocreate a non-disputable record.
  • It is the latest technology for surveying and measuring of land.
  • Drones will draw a digital map of every property falling within the geographical limits of a village and demarcate the boundaries of every revenue area.
• The property records for a village will also be maintained at the Panchayat level, allowing for thecollection of associated taxes from the owners. The money generated from these local taxes will be used to build rural infrastructure and facilities.
• Freeing the residential properties including land of title disputes and the creation of an official record is likely to result in appreciation in the market value of the properties.
• The accurate property records can be used for facilitating tax collection, new building and structure plan, issuing of permits and for thwarting attempts at property grabbing.

• The need for this Yojana was felt since several villagers in the rural areas don’t have papers proving ownership of their land.
• In most states, survey and measurement of the populated areas in the villages has not been done for the purpose of attestation/verification of properties.
• When we look at the benefits of this scheme, we will have to understand this point that most people don’t have the papers of their land in a rural area. In this case, the chances of disputes get increased in rural areas. This scheme will fill this gap and make the people aware of their ownership of land in rural areas.
• Swamitva Yojana is aimed to fill the above gap to provide ownership rights to people in the villages.
• As the property record of a village will be managed at the Panchayat level, the collection of taxes from the local landowners will also be done at this level only and collected money will be used for the benefit of the local area and people.

• The scheme does not spell out how to resolve existing disputes on land in the rural areas.
• There is a lack of grievance redressal mechanism and villagers have no means to place their objections or bring notice to the authorities regarding any discrepancies.
• The scheme has not addressed the level of reliability of the drone survey, as accuracy rate may vary.
• Before implementation, people must be apprised of the scheme thoroughly and made aware of their rights and benefits accruing out of it.
• Without the cooperation of the people and their acceptance, the scheme will be difficult to implement.

The scheme will go a long way in achieving social justice and securing the lives of rural people by providing them definite legal assurance of their land ownership.