SVAMITVA (Survey of Villages and Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas) is a new Central Sector Scheme of the Union Ministry of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Government of India. Launched on 24 April 2021, on the National Panchayati Raj Day, this scheme aims to provide a much-needed solution for property validation in rural India, primarily by restricting residential areas in rural areas using Advanced Drone Technology. 

This article shall discuss various aspects of the ambitious SVAMITVA scheme, including its aims, objectives, coverage, benefits, challenges, and needs of the scheme in detail. The SVAMITVA scheme is an important topic for the UPSC IAS Exam preparation. SVAMITVA Scheme-based questions are expected in General Studies Paper-2 (Mains) and General Studies Paper-3 (Mains).

What is the SVAMITVA Scheme?

SVAMITVA stands for Survey of Villages and Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas Scheme. It is a central sector scheme that was launched in 2020. It provides an integrated property validation solution for rural India. It is a collaboration between the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, the Ministry of Rural Development, and the Survey of India.

• The scheme aims to empower rural communities. It provides them with digital ownership records of their properties. 
• The SVAMITVA Scheme is being implemented in a phased manner. It is expected to cover all villages in the country by 2024.
• The scheme uses drone technology to map rural villages and to create digital property records.
• The scheme is being implemented through a public-private partnership model.

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Major Objectives of the SVAMITVA Scheme

This ambitious scheme of the Government of India has the following objectives:

• To provide an advanced, innovative, and integrated solution for property validation in rural India.
• To create accurate land records for planning in rural areas.
• To reduce and resolve property-related disputes.
• To bring financial Independence and stability in rural India by allowing the people to use their property for taking financial benefits, including loans.
• To create survey infrastructure, GIS maps, and land records to be used by any department if and when required.
• To determine the property tax based on maps and land record documents.
• To support the preparation of a better quality Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP) using land records and GIS-based maps.

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Need for SVAMITVA Scheme

Improper maintenance and sometimes an altogether absence of land records in the rural areas in India demand an immediate need for the SVAMITVA scheme. Some other needs are listed below:

• The survey of rural settlements in India was done many decades ago.
• Inhabited rural areas and villages were not surveyed in many states, and thus, no land records are available in those areas.
• In the absence of legal property documents, the owners are unable to monetize their own property as a financial asset.

Thus, in order to provide the legal rights of property to the owner in a speedy and cost-effective manner, the SVAMITVA scheme is very much needed.

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Activities under the SVAMITVA Scheme

The Scheme includes the following main activities:

• Establishment of Continuous Operating Reference System (CORS): CORS is a network of reference stations that provides high-accuracy network RTK corrections in real-time. It enables centimeter-level horizontal positioning and supports accurate geo-referencing, ground truthing, and land boundary.
• Large-Scale Mapping Using Drones: The Survey of India will use drone surveys to map rural inhabited areas (Abadi). This will generate high-resolution and accurate maps for conferring property rights and issuing property cards to rural household owners.
• Awareness Program: An awareness program will educate the rural population about the surveying methodology and its benefits.
• Establishment of Programme Management Units: Programme management units will be set up at the national and state levels to oversee and manage the scheme's implementation.
• Development and Maintenance of Scheme Dashboard: A scheme dashboard will be developed and maintained to track the progress of the scheme. Drone survey spatial data and maps will be integrated into the Ministry's spatial planning application to support local-level planning.
• Documentation of Best Practices and Workshops: Best practices will be documented, and national and regional workshops will be conducted to share knowledge and experiences.

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Benefits of the SVAMITVA Scheme

The SVAMITVA scheme has several benefits, some of which are listed below:

• Delivering legal property rights through government sources will enable the property owner to access institutional financing by using their property as collateral.
• The maintenance of property documents at the local level will allow the collection of tax and improve the financial status of the Panchayati Raj Institutions. 
• The disputes regarding the properties will be resolved, reducing the workload of an already overburdened judicial system and promoting social harmony in rural areas.
• With the provision of legal property rights and SVAMITVA cards, the property's market value will also increase.
• Proper land and property records will enable better planning at the local level and also will improve disaster management practices. 
• The SVAMITVA scheme will also encourage better Prime Minister Aawas Yojana (Gramin) implementation.

Image Source: Svamitva Guidelines

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Scope of the Scheme

The scheme is intended to encompass all villages in the country over a five-year period, starting from April 2020 and concluding in March 2025. In the initial phase of the scheme, which was executed during the fiscal year 2020-21, it was rolled out in several states, including Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Andhra Pradesh. Additionally, during this phase, the CORS network infrastructure was established in Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh.

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Working of the SVAMITVA Scheme

The SVAMITVA scheme's implementation can be categorized into three stages:

• Pre-Survey
• Survey Activities
• Post Survey Activities

Image Source: Svamitva Guidelines

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Challenges in Implementing the SVAMITVA Scheme

The visionary SVAMITVA scheme also faces some tough challenges in its implementation; they are:

• Unclear Legal Validity of the SVAMITVA Cards
• No specific provision is provided to ensure the legal validity of the property cards.
• Variations in laws governing the land record-keeping practice across different states.
• Proper inclusion of the marginalized communities, including- Sharecroppers, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Women, etc.
• The Gram Panchayat in Southeast states must be legally empowered to collect the property tax.
• Proper Grievance Redressal Mechanism.
• Properly complying with the guidelines of the Open Geospatial Consortium.

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SVAMITVA Scheme: Facts and Figures for UPSC

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Way Forward 

The SVAMITVA scheme targets to complete the land record survey exercise by March 2025. The following points can be kept in mind while going forward with implementing the SVAMITVA Scheme:

• The relevant authority shall guarantee that the property cards are legal proof of land ownership recognized by Financial Institutions.
• State government could also constitute expert committees to ensure that the relevant state laws are amended so that the objectives of the SVAMITVA Scheme can be achieved.
• Gram panchayats in all the states must be empowered to collect the property tax by amending the related laws.
• Utmost care shall be taken while Demarcating the Abadi areas for the first time so that the marginalized and vulnerable groups are not left out.
• It is also recommended to involve local communities in the mapping and documentation exercise to make it more inclusive and dispute-free.

Also, read about PM Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana for the UPSC Exam here!

Concluding Remarks

After its successful completion, the SVAMITVA scheme will be a cornerstone in many ways. It will support village-level planning, monetize the assets of rural people, minimize property-related disputes, and will also potentially improve the financial condition of the Panchayati Raj Institutions using tax collection. Every village in the country will eventually be covered under the scheme, which is a step in the right direction towards taking the Atmanirbhar Bharat campaign to rural India and establishing Gram Swaraj in the true sense. Timely implementation and effectively dealing with the challenges en-route the implementation of the SVAMITVA Scheme is the need of the hour.

Download the PDF on Svamitva Scheme notes for the UPSC Exam here.

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