After 80 years India uses mapping drone for geography to update land records for the first time

After 80 years India uses mapping drone for geography to update land records for the first time.Karnataka has issued an order earlier this month covering the remaining 26 districts where drone land mapping surveys will be carried out at an estimated cost of Rs 2.87 crore. The investigation was divided into two phases - 13 districts per round.

The Indian government has authorized the use of drones as a service (DRaaS) to survey the state's 140,000-square-kilometer geographic area to update land records, the first such exercise since the last survey in the United Kingdom in 1935.

This survey is essential for updating land records and determining ownership (agricultural and residential). Over the years, many land records were either lost or damaged.

According to the Karnataka Land Taxation Act, a survey must be conducted every 30 years.

The total geographical extent of Karnataka is 191,000 square kilometers. Of these, survey work began in 2018 with Survey of India (the central engineering agency in charge of surveying and surveying) in five districts - Ramanagara, Tumakuru, Belagavi, Uttara Kannada and Hassan - covering approximately 51,000 square kilometers.



By January 2024, the investigation will be completed and title records released in March of that year, according to the government order.

The revenue survey will be the state's first major project to take advantage of the emerging drone-as-a-service model.

“The Indian survey has only given Karnataka ten drones. Each drone is able to cover about 3 square kilometers per day. The current deployment of drones is not effective and the project cannot be completed on time. The Indian survey does not have the ability to Covering 40,000-50,000 square kilometers in the next two years," the tax department explained in its order.

The government will conduct a tender, inviting drone suppliers to bid for the survey.

The government will receive technical assistance from the Karnataka State Remote Application Centre (KSRSAC) to process orthophotos from drone surveys (this is the process of converting the imagery into a map-friendly format by removing sensors, satellites/aircraft) motion and terrain-related geometric distortions from the original image).