SVAMITVA scheme/ SVAMITVA योजना:

Why in News ? Prime Minister Narendra Modi has recently  said that  once property cards under the Centre’s SVAMITVA scheme have been distributed in all the villages of the country, it could unlock economic activity worth over Rs 100 lakh crore.

The Prime Minister was addressing an event to distribute over 65 lakh property cards to property owners in over 50,000 villages through video conferencing. He said 2.25 crore people in villages have so far received legal documents for their houses under the scheme.

What is the SVAMITVA scheme?

• The acronym SVAMITVA stands for Survey of Villages and Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas. It aims to provide a ‘record of rights’ to those having houses in villages, and issue them a property card.
• The plan is to survey all rural properties using drones and prepare GIS -based maps for each village.
• The scheme was launched by PM Modi on National Panchayati Raj Day, on April 24, 2020.
• Distribution of property cards began on October 11 of that year.

What is the benefit of a SVAMITVA property card?

• According to the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, the scheme benefits rural residents in many ways. First, it enables rural households to use their property as a financial asset for taking loans and other financial benefits.
• PM Modi also mentioned this. “After getting legal documents, lakhs of people have taken loans from banks on the basis of their houses and property. With this money, they have started their small business in the village. Many of these are small and medium farmer families. For them, these property cards have become a big guarantee of economic security,” he said.
• Second, it helps in determination of property tax, which accrues to the Gram Panchayats directly in states where they are empowered to collect such taxes. The cards help increase liquidity of land parcels in the market and increase the financial credit availability to the village.
• The scheme also paves the way for creation of accurate land records for rural planning. All the property records and maps are available at the Gram Panchayat level, which helps in taxation of villages, construction permits, elimination of encroachments, etc.

How is the scheme being implemented?

• The framework for implementation of SVAMITVA scheme provides a multi-stage process of generating a property card, which starts with signing of a memorandum of understanding between Survey of India (SoI) and respective state governments. The SoI is responsible for preparing the National Topographic database on all scales, using technology for topographical mapping at various scales including the use of airborne photography drones, satellite imageries, and Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAV) or drone platforms.
• Once the MOU is done, a Continuously Operating Reference System (CORS) is established. It is a network of reference stations that provide a virtual base station that allows access to long-range high-accuracy Network RTK (Real-Time Kinematic) corrections. “The CORS network supports in establishing ground control points, which is an important activity for accurate Geo-referencing, ground truthing and demarcation of lands,” says the framework.
• The next step is the identification of villages to be surveyed, and make people aware of the process of mapping properties. The abadiarea (inhabited area) of the village is demarcated and each rural property is marked with limestone (chunna). Then, drones are used for large scale mapping of rural abadi areas.
• Based on these images, a GIS database on 1:500 scale, and village maps — Gram Manchitra — are drawn. After creation of maps, a ground verification process by drone survey teams follows, on the basis of which corrections, if any, are made. At this stage, the inquiry/objection process – conflict/ dispute resolution is completed.
• After this, final Property Cards/Title deeds or “Sampatti Patrak” are generated. These cards are made available on digital platforms or as hard copies to the village household owners.

How far has the scheme progressed?

• Back in 2020, the scheme was implemented as a pilot project in about 1 lakh villages across 9 states– Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Rajasthanand Andhra Pradesh. The aim was to cover all 6.62 lakh villages in the country by the end of financial year 2023-24.
• Recently, an official statement said, “Drone survey has been completed in over 3.17 lakh villages, which covers 92% of the targeted villages… The scheme has reached full saturation in Puducherry, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Tripura, Goa, Uttarakhand and Haryana. Drone survey has been completed in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarhand several UTs,” the statement said.
• According to the ministry, A total of 67,000 sq.km of rural Abadi land has been surveyed, valued at Rs.132 lakh crore, emphasizing the economic significance of the initiative.
• Now the government plans to showcase the success of the SVAMITVA scheme at global level. “Looking ahead, the Ministry plans to showcase the success of the SVAMITVA Scheme on global platforms.
• In March 2025, MoPR in collaboration with Ministry of External Affairs, has planned to host an International Workshop on Land Governance in India, with participation from nearly 40 representatives from Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia. This workshop aims to share best practices and advanced drone and GIS technologies, fostering collaboration for similar initiatives worldwide. In May 2025, the Ministry is also planning to participate in the World Bank Land Governance Conference in Washington to highlight India’s achievements and encourage international adoption of the model,” the ministry said in a statement on January 17.