The Delhi government has started towards ending the ambiguity regarding identity, ownership and documentation of Abadi Deh land that has been pending for years in the rural areas of Delhi. The government will now conduct a comprehensive survey of populated areas, their records will be prepared, and verification and computerization will also be done. The government claims that this initiative will not only strengthen the land management system, but will also play a decisive role in providing legal proof of ownership and financial security to the villagers.
Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said that the Delhi government has taken a historic and revolutionary step towards ensuring property ownership rights in rural populated areas and ending decades-old border disputes. For the successful implementation of the Swamitva Scheme (SVAMITVA Scheme) launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on National Panchayati Raj Day on 24 April 2020, the Delhi Government has prepared the draft of ‘Delhi Population Body Survey and Records Operating Rules, 2025’.
Survey will be done by drone, records will be stored digitally
CM said that in this government draft, the entire functioning of drone-based aerial survey, field verification, public objection process, dispute settlement, digital records and issuing property cards has been clearly defined. Its objective is to ensure that the rights of any person are not violated and that land related disputes can be resolved in a transparent, timely and equitable manner. Also, the preliminary maps prepared from the drone survey will be verified on the spot to ensure that the boundaries shown in the map match the actual situation.
Traditional Verification with Modern Technology
According to government provisions, the process of population survey will be conducted under the direct control of the Revenue Department. The survey team and the technical agency will jointly carry out the survey work using modern technologies in the populated areas of villages, extended populated areas, and other notified areas. In this process, digital data will be collected through drones and aerial photography, so that the exact location, size and extent of each plot can be recorded. However, along with technology based survey, ground truthing will be mandatory.
Agreement with Survey of India
The Chief Minister said that the Revenue Department signed an MoU with the Survey of India to implement the Swamitva (SVAMITVA) scheme in 48 rural villages of Delhi in April 2022. So far, drone survey work has been completed in 31 villages and ‘Map 2.0’ of 25 villages has been examined and handed over to the Survey of India, so that land parcel maps and Bhu-Aadhaar numbers can be issued.
The heritage of villages will get protection
The Chief Minister has said that this decision of the government will also promote planned development in populated areas. This will help in preservation of village heritage, improvement of civic amenities, increase in land value and development of rural infrastructure as per urban standards. Besides this, old disputes related to boundaries and ownership will also be resolved. He also said that this will not only speed up the implementation of government schemes, but will also provide clarity and security to the citizens regarding their rights. This process is going to write a new chapter of land management in rural areas of Delhi, the impact of which will be seen for years to come.
What is Abadi Deh?
Abadi Deh literally means the population area of the village. It is the specific land area within the revenue limits of the village where rural dwellings (houses), barns, cow sheds and other supporting structures are located. Traditionally, in pre-independence surveys, Abadi Deh area was kept separate from agricultural land, so no official or revenue records (Khasra-Khatauni) of this land are available in most states. Delhi government will now start the survey through Abadi Deh. Surveying the abadi deh land and issuing property cards under the ‘Svamitva Yojana’ is a decisive step towards providing villagers with solid legal ownership of their property.
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