Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked all Union ministers to attend public events on December 27 to distribute 5.7 lakh asset cards among dozens of states and Union Territories, SVAMITVA, a central sector scheme, The Indian Express learnt.
The move is seen as a major setback for the implementation of the scheme to provide ‘record of rights’ to house owners in rural areas and issue legal ownership rights through property cards or title deeds.
It is said that in the meeting of the Council of Ministers held on November 20, the Prime Minister asked the ministers to attend the program.
According to sources, the Panchayati Raj Ministry is planning to conduct physical programs in 12 states and Union Territories – Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Mizoram, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Ladakh. The chief ministers of these states and the LG of Ladakh will also participate in the program in their respective states, sources said. The Prime Minister will give virtual participation. A total of 57 lakh property cards will be distributed in 240 districts in these states, sources said.
Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav and Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan have been asked to coordinate with BJP-ruled states, sources said.
SVAMITVA, an estate survey and mapping scheme, was launched by the Prime Minister on the occasion of National Panchayati Raj Day on April 24, 2020. And distribution of property cards started on October 11 that year. So far, 2 crore property cards have been issued, an official said, covering all households in several states like Haryana and Uttarakhand. The scheme aims to cover the entire country by the end of the financial year 2025-26.
According to the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, this scheme will benefit the people of rural areas in many ways. First, it enables rural households to use it as an economic asset to obtain loans and other financial benefits. Secondly, it will help in determining property tax, which will be collected directly by Gram Panchayats in states where they are empowered to collect such tax.
Third, it will increase the liquidity of land parcels in the market and increase the availability of financial credit in the village. Fourth, the scheme will pave the way for creating accurate land records for rural planning. Sixth, all property records and maps will be available in Gram Panchayats, which will help in village taxes, building permits, encroachment removal etc.
Seventh, it will help reduce property related disputes. Eighth, since asset mapping is done using GIS technology, it can also be used for quality gram panchayat development planning.
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