On Monday, the Jharkhand government formally commissioned the centre’s Svamitva Yojana from Karra village in Arki block of Khunti district. Under the scheme, the state department of revenue, land records and registration will join hands with the Survey of India to generate digital records of immovable properties belonging to residents of rural areas in the state. Launched on August 24, 2020, by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the scheme was begun by the Union ministries of Panchayati raj and land revenue. In Jharkhand, more villages under 4,345-gram panchayats across 24 districts will be taken under this scheme. Prominently, Khunti was the epicentre of the Pathalgarhi movement during the tenure of former chief minister Raghubar Das as locals built plaques representing self-governance and restricting the entry of outsiders into their respective settlements. The state government said that in the initial phases, over 175 villages under the Arki block will be brought under the scheme. Svamitva is a Survey of Villages and Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas. States such as Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab have already started executing the scheme’s first phase. After inaugurating the scheme, Khiangte told the media that under the scheme, the district administration would team up with officials of the Survey of India, and visit the villages, mark the property’s boundaries along with taking aerial pictures of immovable properties. He additionally said that the photographs will then be used to generate digital land records, and its owner will be given property cards. Khiangte added that the digital records would prove useful in upholding the rights of the landowners and disbursement of welfare schemes among the beneficiaries. On a macro level, the state government will additionally be able to map the peripheries of human settlements in the rural regions through the scheme.Image Source