Union Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan launched the Central government’s new initiative—‘NAtional geospatial Knowledge-based land Survey of urban HAbitations’ (NAKSHA)— on February 18 from Raisen in Madhya Pradesh.What is NAKSHA?NAKSHA is a city survey initiative under the existing Digital India Land Records Modernization Programme (DILRMP). It is spearheaded by the Department of Land Resources (DoLR), under the Ministry of Rural Development.Under the new initiative, maps of towns and cities will be prepared. The programme has been launched as a pilot across 152 urban local bodies in 26 states. The cities selected meet two criteria: area less than 35 sq km, and population less than 2 lakhs. The pilot will be completed in a year.According to the DoLR, “The NAKSHA program aims to create a comprehensive and accurate geospatial database for urban land records. By integrating aerial and field surveys with advanced GIS technology, the program enhances efficiency in land governance, streamlines property ownership records, and facilitates urban planning. Accurate geospatial data ensures improved decision-making, efficient land use planning and smoothen and certain property transactions.”The programme addresses the issue of updation of land records in urban areas – while land records have improved in rural areas, several cities lack maps even today. Most urban areas – barring a few states like Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Goa – have outdated or unstructured land records, causing inefficiencies in governance and taxation, an official at the DoLR told The Indian Express.The idea of this initiative was first mooted in the Union Budget last year. “Land records in urban areas will be digitised with GIS mapping. An IT-based system for property record administration, updating, and tax administration will be established. These will also facilitate improving the financial position of urban local bodies,” Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in her budget speech on July 23, 2024.Also Read | Why snakes are responsible for most wildlife attack deaths in KeralaIn her budget speech on February 1, 2025, she reiterated, “Urban sector reforms related to governance, municipal services, urban land, and planning will be incentivised.”Story continues below this ad“We will start a National Geospatial Mission to develop foundational geospatial infrastructure and data. Using PM Gati Shakti, this Mission will facilitate modernisation of land records, urban planning, and design of infrastructure projects,” Sitharaman said.What does NAKSHA entail?As per the Census 2011, India has 7,933 towns covering 1.02 lakh square km of the total 32.87 lakh square km geographical area of the country. NAKSHA will cover 4,142.63 square km of area.The initiative is 100 per cent centrally funded. The pilot project is expected to cost about Rs 194 crore. At the unit level, the cost varies depending on the camera used. For a simple camera, the cost is about Rs 25,000 to Rs 30,000 per square km, while for a 3D camera, it comes to about Rs 60,000 per square km.Once completed, NAKSHA is expected to provide comprehensive digital urban land records, reduce land disputes, aid in faster and more efficient urban planning, improve property tax collection, simplify property transactions and improve access to credit.Story continues below this adAccording to the DoLR officials, the Centre plans to scale up NAKSHA once the pilot is completed. Based on the outcomes and learnings, the initiative will be launched in 4,912 urban local bodies in the country.How will the survey be done?The survey will be done through aerial photography using two types of cameras— simple cameras and oblique angle cameras (having 5 cameras) with LiDAR sensors. These cameras will be mounted on drones. The ground resolution of these cameras will be 5 cm, which is far better than any satellite, said an official, adding that the European Space Agency’s satellites have a resolution of 30 cm while ISRO satellites have 50 cm.The NAKSHA initiative envisages a three-stage process for the survey and mapping of urban areas.In the first stage, an area is selected, and a flight plan for a drone survey is drawn. Once a drone flight takes place, photographs are taken from which data will be extracted.In the second stage, a field survey is done to verify the conditions on the ground. Details like property tax, ownership, and registration deeds will be linked with each land parcel and property. Thereafter 2D/3D models will be prepared and draft land ownership details will be published.In the third stage, claims and objections are accounted for and grievances are redressed. Following these, the final maps will be published.