Aizawl, Jan 18 (IANS): Mizoram Governor Gen V.K. Singh (Retd) on Saturday said that the state was the first state in the northeast region to distribute property cards under the SVAMITVA (Survey of Villages Abadi and Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas) scheme.
The Governor virtually participated in the distribution event of Property Cards under the SVAMITVA Scheme from the Raj Bhavan in Aizawl.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi graced the occasion and handed out over 65 lakh property cards to property owners in over 50,000 villages in more than 230 districts across 10 States and 2 Union territories on Saturday through video conferencing.
Among the beneficiaries were 1,754 property cardholders from 18 villages in Mizoram. The Governor lauded the SVAMITVA scheme and expressed his pride in Mizoram being the first state in the northeast region to distribute property cards under the Scheme.
He commended the Land Revenue and Settlement Department for their efforts and urged them to continue working towards the scheme's objectives. Gen Singh (Retd) also congratulated the beneficiaries and extended his best wishes to all involved.
The SVAMITVA scheme was launched by the Prime Minister five years ago (on April 24, 2020) with a vision to enhance the economic progress of rural India by providing a ‘Record of Rights’ to households owning houses in inhabited areas in villages through the latest drone technology for surveying.
According to a Mizoram government statement, the Scheme is aimed at creating records of rights in revenue documents for inhabited areas in villages using drone and GIS (Geographic Information System) technology. These property cards serve not only as legal documentation but also as collateral for bank loans and for various other important purposes, it said.
For effective implementation, the Mizoram government and the Survey of India signed a MoU on this initiative on July 8, 2021. According to the statement, the drone surveys commenced in villages without existing revenue surveys on December 9, 2021, and were completed by December 2, 2024, covering 319 villages across nine districts of the state.
Mizoram became the first state in the northeastern region to distribute property cards on April 24, 2023. Including Saturday’s distribution, a total of 2,909 property cards have been distributed in the state so far.
The plan is to extend the initiative to provide around 35,000 property cards in Mizoram in the coming phases, the statement said. The event was also attended by Land Revenue and Settlement Minister B. Lalchhanzova, Secretary Vanlalmawia, and Additional Secretary Lalhmunsanga Hnamte among others.