SWAMITVA Scheme

Introduction

  • On Panchayati Raj Diwas (April 24th), the Prime Minister of India launched ‘Swamitva Yojana’ or Ownership Scheme to map residential land ownership in the rural sector using modern technology like the use of drones.
  • The scheme aims to revolutionise property record maintenance in India.

About the Scheme

  • SVAMITVA (Survey of villages and mapping with improvised technology in village areas) scheme is a new initiative of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj.
  • It aims to provide rural people with the right to document their residential properties so that they can use their property for economic purposes.
  • The scheme is for surveying the land parcels in rural inhabited area using Drone technology.
  • The survey shall be done across the country in a phase wise manner over the period 2020 -2025 .
  • The scheme is proposed as a Central Sector scheme with a projected outlay of Rs 79.65 crores for the pilot phase (FY 2020 -21) .

Objectives

  1. 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.
  2. Creation of accurate land records for rural planning.
  3. Determination of property tax, which would accrue to the GPs directly in States where it is devolved or else, add to the State exchequer.
  4. Creation of survey infrastructure and GIS maps that can be leveraged by any department for their use.
  5. To support in preparation of better-quality Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP) by making use of GIS maps.
  6. To reduce property related disputes and legal cases

Coverage

  • There are about 6.62 lakh villages in the country which will be eventually covered in this scheme.
  • The entire work is likely to be spread over a period of five

SWAMITVA Scheme

SWAMITVA Scheme

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SWAMITVA Scheme

Overview and key features of the ‘Swamitva Yojana’

  • The scheme is piloted by the Panchayati Raj ministry.
  • The residential land in villages will be measured using drones to create a non-disputable record.
  • Property card for every property in the village will be prepared by states using accurate measurements delivered by drone-mapping.
  • These cards will be given to property owners and will be recognised by the land revenue records department.

SWAMITVA Scheme

Benefits of the scheme

  1. The delivery of property rights through an official document will enable villagers to access bank finance using their property as collateral.
  2. The property records for a village will also be maintained at the Panchayat level, allowing for the collection of associated taxes from the owners.
  3. The money generated from these local taxes will be used to build rural infrastructure and facilities.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.

Need for and significance of the scheme:

  • 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.
  • The new scheme is likely to become a tool for empowerment and entitlement, reducing social strife on account of discord over properties.

Expected outcome

  • The outcome from the scheme would include updating the ‘record-of-rights’ in the revenue/property registers and issuance of property cards to the property owners.
  • This would facilitate monetization of rural residential assets for credit and other financial services.
  • Further, this would also pave the way for clear determination of property tax, which would accrue to the GPs leading to better civic amenities.

Stakeholders for scheme implementation

The following stakeholders would be involved in carrying out the scheme:

  1. Nodal Ministry (Ministry of Panchayati Raj), Govt of India.
  2. Survey of India (Technology Implementation Agency)
  3. State Revenue department
  4. State Panchayati Raj Department
  5. Local district authorities.
  6. Property owner
  7. Gram Panchayat (GP).
  8. National Informatics Centre (NIC) – GIS Division
  9. Other line departments having assets in Rural inhabited areas (if any) for preparing comprehensive database.