Maharashtra government to launch Rs 4,000 crore satellite imaging project

MUMBAI: Maharashtra government will soon launch a Rs 4,000 crore satellite imaging project to map all land in the state and prepare digital records of land holding.

"We have decided to undertake an ambitious Rs 4,000 crore project for satellite mapping of land in the state," Revenue Minister Eknath Khadse told reporters here.

"During a meeting of concerned officials at Mantralaya, we were told that the project will take five years to complete but we want to finish it much before that period," Khadse said.

The satellite imaging would include that of land used for agriculture, industry and also urban land, he said.

The last comprehensive land mapping exercise was undertaken 150 years ago under the British rule. Now we want to use technology to get an accurate picture which will help bring in transparency in land transactions, he said.

The project would be taken up under a centrally funded scheme.

The previous Congress-NCP regime had initiated a similar exercise but it did not progress, he said.

"I spoke to (Union Minister) Nitin Gadkari who handled the concerned department earlier. I will speak to the new Central minister who handles it now," Khadse said.

"The state government, after completion of the project, will be able to ensure home delivery of 7/12 land extracts for farmers, the minister said.

The entire state land data will be computerised and available online.

The project will also help curb corruption at lower level where amounts ranging from a few hundred to thousand rupees are sought to provide the documents, he said.

"We will issue necessary directives to treat computer printouts of land records as valid after the mapping exercise," Khadse said.

Meanwhile, an official said the government will review the land mapping system used in Bengaluru civic body limits and also the one in UAE before finalising a vendor for the project.