The Digital India Land Records Modernisation Programme (DILRMP), a central government scheme launched in August 2008, aims to improve the quality and accessibility of land records. These records, which provide details of a land parcel such as dimensions, ownership and value, exist in spatial and non-spatial forms. Maintained by state governments, they contain precise representations of land parcels and serve as an ongoing Record of Rights.
The state of Maharashtra has both spatial and non-spatial land records for agricultural areas. However, in the case of built-up or abadi areas—termed as ‘gaothan’—there are mostly textual and very few spatial records. This is because the task of capturing the ownership of gaothan areas has not received much importance, causing a hindrance for the Government of Maharashtra (GoM) while undertaking administrative tasks such as infrastructure development work and charging property tax. Another impediment is caused by discrepancies between spatial and textual records, thereby leading to ambiguities in government records.
This brief looks at what methods can be utilised in Maharashtra in order to improve mapping techniques in the state.