Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Feb 17: Union Minister of Rural Development and Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, is set to inaugurate the National Geospatial Knowledge-based Land Survey of Urban Habitations (NAKSHA) program tomorrow in Raisen, Madhya Pradesh, involving 152 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) across 26 states and 3 Union Territories (UTs).
The pilot initiative is launched by the Department of Land Resources under the Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India.
Dignitaries attending the event include Union Minister of State for Rural Development & Communications, Dr. Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani, Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Dr. Mohan Yadav, Revenue Minister Karan Singh Verma, Minister for Panchayati Raj and Rural Development Prahlad Singh Patel, and other officials from both the Central and Madhya Pradesh state governments.
The event will feature drone flights, the release of a Standard Operating Procedure (SoP) booklet along with videos and flyers about the NAKSHA Program, the flagging off of the WDC Yatra, the screening of a WDC video, and the performance of the Watershed Anthem.
The NAKSHA initiative aims to establish and update land records in urban areas, ensuring accurate documentation of land ownership. This will empower citizens, enhance living standards, facilitate urban planning, and diminish land-related disputes. The IT-driven property record management system will promote transparency, efficiency, and sustainable development.
The Survey of India acts as the technical partner for the NAKSHA program, tasked with conducting aerial surveys and supplying orthorectified imagery to state and Union Territory governments via third-party vendors. The Madhya Pradesh State Electronic Development Corporation (MPSEDC) will develop the end-to-end web-GIS platform, while the National Informatics Centre Services Inc. (NICSI) will provide storage solutions.
Field surveys and ground truthing will be carried out by state and Union Territory governments using the provided imagery, culminating in the finalization of urban and semi-urban land records.
The total estimated cost for the NAKSHA pilot program is approximately Rs 194 crore, fully backed by the Government of India.
In Jammu and Kashmir, a similar program is being organized in four selected ULBs, including Bishnah in Jammu, Katra in Reasi, Awantipora in Pulwama, and Pattan in Baramulla, taking place at Green View Resort (Bishnah), Auditorium Spiritual Growth Centre (Katra), Lal Ded Auditorium IUST (Awantipora), and Auditorium Hall Government Degree College (Pattan) respectively.
