INDIA. New Delhi: According to an official statement, the Civil Aviation Ministry (MoCA) and Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Wednesday 9 May 2021, gave conditional exemption to Survey of India (Sol) from Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Rules, 2021, to use drones for mapping of inhabited areas of villages under the central government’s Survey of villages and Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas (SVAMITVA) scheme.
“This permission grant will allow large-scale mapping by Survey of India using drones. The aerial surveillance would generate high resolution and accurate maps to confer ownership property rights,” the ministry’s statement noted. It also mentioned, “Based on these maps or data, property cards would be issued to the rural household owners.”
This exemption is valid for a period of one year from the date of approval or until further orders, whichever is earlier, and shall be subject to the terms and conditions of the SOP (issued by DGCA).
It should be noted here that in April, drones have also been permitted to be used by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) for conducting a feasibility study of COVID-19 vaccine deliveries in collaboration with IT Kanpur.
SVAMITVA scheme
The SVAMITVA scheme aims to provide an integrated property validation solution for rural India. The demarcation of Abadi areas (the Abadi area includes inhabitant land, inhabited areas contiguous to Abadi and wadis/basties in rural areas) would be done using Drone Surveying technology, with the collaborative efforts of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, State Panchayati Raj Department, State Revenue Department. This permission grant will allow Large Scale Mapping (LSM) by Survey of India using drones.
The digital spatial data/maps created under the drone survey will be leveraged for the creation of spatial analytical tools to support the preparation of the Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP). The images captured through Drones would be processed by the Survey of India in its Geographic Information System lab.
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