How Can Mapping of ‘Abadi’ Land Help Rural Communities in India?

AP Nagar is the Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Government of India.

(Photo: Aman Verma/The Quint)

(This story was originally published on 28 December 2020 and has been republished on 6 October on the occasion of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's distribution of e-property cards to 1,71,000 beneficiaries in Madhya Pradesh, under the SVAMITVA scheme.)

Surveying and mapping land have long served as the foundation for effective governance and administration.

However, in large parts of rural India, while there are records of agricultural lands, no records exist of other inhabited lands, until now. In October, amid much fanfare, the Prime Minister physically distributed property cards to over 1 lakh land holders of such inhabited rural lands (abadi land).

Why is it that the ‘abadi’ land had not been mapped until now? And now that it is being mapped and documented using drone surveys, what does it mean for the inhabitants, and for the villages/Panchayats that these lands are located in?

In this episode, we look at the Ministry of Panchayati Raj’s recently launched scheme, SVAMITVA Yojana. Nagar brings to fore the thought and planning behind designing such a scheme and helps outline how the scheme aims to plug the existing gaps with property rights in rural India today. Tune in!

What should you expect from this podcast series?

‘Land of a Billion’ brings you expert conversations about the most contentious of the holy roti-kapda-makaan trinity – the makaan over our heads and the larger ecosystem that governs it. From administrative tussles to understanding the conflicts on ground, catch these episodes every alternate Monday for a rundown on the latest charcha around land and property rights in India.

Hosted by researcher Abhishek Shah, it is a fortnightly podcast series produced in association with the Property Rights Research Consortium.

Don’t forget to catch the next episode, where researchers from the Finance Research Group look at how farmer welfare schemes, such as the PM KISAN and Telangana’s Rythu Bandhu Scheme, can be optimised by using land records to streamline the beneficiary identification criteria.