Technology
Rules on Mapping Technologies in India Heading Nowhere!
It's official now! The government has finally announced that digitisation of SOI topomaps by organisations other than designated agencies is not allowed. This order also has clearly brought out the fact that all the illusions created by IT Task Force for liberalisation of mapping policy in the country have met the dust.
The order, which was released on the13th July, 1998, is more intriguing in the sense that it has remained unnoticed by the GIS community for more than five months. This order went undisclosed and undiscussed by top brass of the mapping and user organisations in such important forum like Map India'98, Geoinformatics'98 and ESRI User conference. To the shock of our team at GIS@development, we found the GIS companies and user organisations were unaware about the new rules and regulations regarding mapping. In fact, many companies involved in GIS database creation from SOI topomaps are participating in Survey of India supported Indian National Cartographic Association (INCA) Conference and exhibiting their products and services. Is their some one in the government to stop this alleged illegal activity?
If implemented in letter and spirit, this document can drastically change the fate of GIS in the county. It gives an opportunity for all of us to brainstorm on various facets of rules framed in the light of security of the country.
Before discussing the new orders, let us try to have a look on the history of restriction policy in India.
Policy on Maps
In the post-Independence period the policy of restriction was first enunciated in 1950 vide Ministry of Defence GOI letter No.F. 119/49D-I, dated 13th November, 1950. It broadly laid down that all maps even on large scale except those in a narrow belt along the land border of India would be available to the public. In small scales all maps of upto and including 1:1 Million scale which include any part of Jammu and Kashmir would be restricted.
This policy had operated till 1962 when in the wake of Chinese aggressioin maps on ½" scale and larger for the whole of India were restricted wide Ministry of Defence GOI letter No. F132661/D (GS-IV), dated 17th November, 1962. Maps on even 1:1 million scale containing any portion along the northern portion of India were restricted. Other smaller scale maps remained available for sale..
In 1967 the restriction policy was again reviewed, vide letter No. F-7(7)/64/D(GS III), dated 15th August, 1967 form the Ministry of Defence with a view to make available maps to various users more liberally and in keeping with peace time requirement. The main feature of the revised policy, was that maps other than those mentioned below are available to the public:
- All topographical & geographical maps of the area containing a specified belt along the land border and coast of India on the scale 1:1 Million and larger. 1:1 Million maps below 20 Latitude along the coast are not restricted.
- All topographical & geographical maps of the outlying island viz. Andaman ands Nicobar, Laccadive, Minicoy & Aminidivi Islands on scales 1:1 million and larger.
However, a further stipulation was laid down in March 1968 by the Ministry of Defence that even in unrestricted maps certain type of information classified as Civil and Military vital points must be deleted and not published for copies meant for civil stock.
Policy on Aerial Photographs
According to the existing orders all serial photographs will be graded Secret unless advised to be graded Top Secret vide Air Head Quarters No. Air HQ/S_20173/Air Int., dated 11.4.1967.
These restrictions imposed caused resentment in Survey of India and NATMO. Difficulties due to these policies was highlighted by the Survey of India in a representation to the Planning Commission. These are:
- A number of maps of the National Atlas series of scale 1:M cannot now be published as they have to be redrawn on the scale of 1:1.5M or smaller. Some 1:M National Atlas plates can be published only after deleting certain items, though the previous editions on thew 1:M scale have been in circulation for quite some time.
- Guide maps of large cities like Bombay, Calcutta, Madras, Trivandrum are placed in the restricted category and thus cannot be issued to the tourists and other users of the guide maps.
- The civil vital places have not been clearly defined with the result that frequently even ordinary bridges and town water works and pumping stations and canals and bunds are being deleted from the maps.
- Copies of most of the maps published upto 1947 in India are said to be freely available in U. K. and U. S. A. and H. M. S. O. Publications. Except for certain cultural details, the major portion of the details of these maps is identical with those of the later editions of these maps.
- An anomaly exists regarding the coastal belt maps, as maps published by Survey of India of these areas are in the restricted category but large scale charts of the same area showing coastal topographic features and harbors etc. are not restricted and are cleared for issue to all countries of the world on a reciprocal basis.
- In respect of use aerial photographs the restriction policy creates considerable difficulties to the universities and other teaching institutions who very often have depend upon aerial photographs of foreign countries like U. S. A. / Canada for instructional purposes.
- Scientific information does not reach even our own scientists, research scholars and educationists, and the progress of science and technology in various fields including natural resources inventory surveys in the disciplines of Geology, Forestry, Soils etc. may thus be struck between the tactical advantages gained by the present restriction policy and the possible retardation in the growth of science and technology to the various civil users in a developing country like India.
Interestingly, the SOI made several suggestions to the government in 1968 for easing the restriction policy, mainly:
Regarding Maps
- All maps on scale smaller than 1:250,000 (or ¼" scales) may be derestricted for the entire country with the provision that strategic roads and bridges and important military installations are deleted from a specified belt along the land borders (Maps on scale smaller than 1:250,000 are termed as Geographical maps as the features are generalised to suit the scale. These maps are generally not used for tactical purposes.
- Maps on scale 1:250,000 or ¼" or larger may be derestricted for all areas except a specified belt of say 50 miles form the land portion of the border only.
- Restriction along coastal belt may not be necessary, as hydrographic charts on larger scales of ports are not restricted.
- The provision of omitting civil vital points in unrestricted new maps may be reviewed as it:
- Reduces the value of maps considerably,
- Does not effectively deny information to one who wants it because he can incorporate it from local information and visit.
- Necessitates maintaining two series at an exorbitant avoidable cost.
Regarding Aerial Photographs
Aerial Photography may be declassified and made India available to all bonafide users for all parts of India except for the following areas:
- Areas falling within a specified belt of say 100 miles along the land border.
- Important towns and areas around them within a peripheral belt of about 5 miles.
- For obtaining photography in areas falling under the category (I) & (II) above the existing procedure may be continued.
But, Ministry of Defence decided to continue with its policy of secrecy. They even raised eyebrows on the Indian Remote Sensing Program. The realisation that the Americans should could obtain through remote sensing, information about India's geophysical status, provided a major impetus for the country to develop it's own remote sensing capabilities. This did not come easily. Defence officials battled with then space supremo Vikram Sarabahi for years until it began to sound ludicrous to all that we were denying to ourselves the knowledge that the US already had about us.
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