Role of modern technology in developing cadastral LIS
Dr. SVC Sastry and YS Swaroop Project Manager and Project Coordinator, Geotech Datamatics Pvt. Ltd., C/901,Indraprasth Complex, Drive-in Road, Ahmedabad - 380052 Tele: 079-7450222/0322, Fax: 079-7410575 datamat@ad1.vsnl.net.in Introduction The ever-increasing population is making administrators’ job more complicated and challenging. The departments that have to handle different types of the public information and complicated record transactions gave rise to more pressure on them for modernization of the official records. Of the multi-farious information, revenue land record maintenance is a crucial and a vital record of the Governments. The critical component of computerization, updated record maintenance and generation of an accurate Land Information System (LIS) is the present topic of this paper. Role of Technology in Revenue Land Records Most of the present land records were created during British regime, using old techniques, to collect the tax from landowners. Basically the record generation process involved detailed ground level field surveys and capturing field measurements using Chains and translate the same onto a sheet of paper and preserving as drawing/map booklets, that are commonly known as Cadastral Survey Maps/Drawings. For example these booklets in Gujarat are called as, Tippan Books’, wherein the individual sheet shows the rough sketch of the shape of land, its ownership, dimension measurements (measured in local Sakal-Aana units), geographic area, type of land, along with any other specific features information. In some other states the individual survey drawings are not available as such, but can be traced out from the village maps. The records are prepared in different methods and organized in multiple ways in different States and Regions. These are very old records and as these are preserved on paper their life is almost exhausted. These paper records are vulnerable to damages by termites, climate (humidity) and many other external causes. But the importance of the information content is very much recognized and different state governments are taking steps to improve the same. Most of these records are in ancient measuring units like Sakal - Anna. On the other hand reproducing a copy of such a record is time consuming and tedious. Though these records are very vital for both the government and individuals till now there are no special techniques available to maintain them and quicken the process of updation. As these land records are old their information content is very limited. Different departments use these records for different purposes like the Registrars’ office maintains the value of the land, while revenue department uses it for tax collection etc. However there is no comprehensive information available with a single department. Probably because of this reason most of the rural development plans do not precisely address the needs of the region. Though the purpose of creating these records were different at that time, today the information needs are different. So accordingly there has to be a way to improve the information content of these land records. With the advent of computers, maintaining accurate data on land records has become easier. Many of the new generation software like CADD and GIS can accommodate the basic information of the land records and provide additional tools to perform analysis. The present technologies offer very wide range of the information applications. With the help of Global Positioning System accurate positions of the land locations can be established and similarly Remote Sensing data can be utilized for updating the land and infrastructure features time and again on the same base map whenever required. The advantage of advanced GIS is that it can be very easily integrated to the GPS and RS tools and can directly port the information into the designed system. Using the new technologies, once the individual land record is computerized, various space-specific parameters can be hooked-up to the land record, the same record can be utilized right from taxation purpose to the micro/regional level planning. The ability of Geographical Information Systems in holding different layers of cartographic information along with tabular data facilitates Capturing, Retrieval, and Querying and provides tools to perform different analyses. Some of the basic layers of these integrated information systems can be summarized as below:
Apart from the above-discussed tasks, GIS can have the facility of geo-referencing the present digital data that would enable the user to visualize the results in real world coordinate system (Latlon/meters/feet). Once a village level map is geo-referenced the same can be linked to district and state level maps and can finally establish a macro level LIS which can be made online for different purposes by applying filters wherever necessary. The geo-referencing will help the Revenue Department to standardize the cadastral level database to Survey Of India projection system Geotech’s Cadastral Mapping Expertise: Domestic Experience: For the Settlement Commissioner & Director of Land Records in the state of Gujarat, Geotech has undertaken a series of cadastral mapping applications and evaluated the feasibility of an automated LIS development. The studies involved computerizing the existing land survey records, called Tippans as referred earlier, and generated Cadastral level village maps for the Government of Gujarat. Geotech has developed software for computerizing land records from the very old records and generating an updated revenue land record with MS unit measurements. Some of these records are dated back to as old as 1900 and their physical condition is very vulnerable. The customized software, LanRec, has the facilities to automatically generate the individual survey plots (TIPPANS), Unit conversion, field measurement tables (FMT), plotting/reproduction of the Tippans and finally mosaic them together to create a village cadastral map. To address the needs of those states where individual plot ownerships drawings are not available, the LanRec generates the individual survey plot from the village level cadastral map there by creates a complete detailed database on individual landownership for the state. The same can be printed automatically with a specific map layout. In an earlier project for the state of Rajasthan, Geotech has successfully developed village level digital database for Rajasthan Government. The project involved digitization of individual village maps with multi-information layers like administrative boundaries, cadastral data, transportation networks, various amenities and natural resources etc. the total layers were about 10 in number. More than 120 attributes were hot-linked with spatial map data for a quick query and retrieval under Arc/Info GIS environment. All these village maps were mosaiced to make a seamless district/state level digital database. Further these digitized spatial layers were integrated with the existing tabular data facilitating options for performing queries and analyses. Thereby the system could generate various socio-economic parameters and spatially depict them in the form of maps for better understanding of the regions in the state. International Experience: Geotech has strong expertise in handling computerization of land parcel (in Indian context they are referred to Survey numbers) information such as their actual shapes and building attribute databases. These projects have been executed for several Cities / Counties of US Federal Government departments. Every parcel has been allocated a unique code, called Parcel Identification Number (PIN). Wherein the source information is acquired from paper drawn measurement sheets, ammonia prints and Ortho-photo maps prepared on varied scales like 1/100, 1/200 or 1/400. Computerized COGO based CAD tools have been developed in-house and were employed in these projects to deliver accurate databases. Automated the process for calculating the acreage of each parcel and linked with other attributes. The same data has been further integrated in a GIS environment and used for creation of city map guides and address geo-coding applications. Conclusions Development of a region is influenced by the land and its availability. The changing scenario in development and modern governance demands advanced technologies and tools for better understanding of needs and planning. The need of the day is creation of a comprehensive Land Information System. CADD and GIS technologies have great potential in the field of land records and creation of LIS that serve as multi-purpose administrative tool. | ||
| © GISdevelopment.net. All rights reserved. |