Land of a Billion- Ep 2: How Can Mapping of ‘Abadi’ Land Help Rural Communities in India?

In this episode, we look at the Ministry of Panchayati Raj’s recently launched scheme, SVAMITVA Yojana.

 

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 of the ‘Land of a Billion’ podcast, host Abhishek Shah speaks to Mr. Alok Prem Nagar, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj, about one of the big-ticket schemes in land and property rights last year, 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).

In this episode, we look at the Ministry of Panchayati Raj’s recently launched scheme, SVAMITVA Yojana. Mr. 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!

 

Mr. Alok Prem Nagar is the Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Govt. Of India.

 

Land of a Billion is the exclusive podcast for conversations about land and property rights in India, produced by PRRC in association with The Quint. New episodes out every alternate Monday. Available on all major streaming platforms, do subscribe! 

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.