Technology
The Proposed Legislation Constituting the National Spatial Data Infrastructure Legal Issues – Concept Note
Rahul Matthan,
Trigal, Bangalore
Email : rahul.matthan@trilegal.com
It has been decided that the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (“NSDI”) be established under a legislation that will set out essential operational features of the NSDI including its composition and administrative structure, decision making powers, and the broad policy issues on which the NSDI will be entitled to make rules and regulations, etc.
This Concept Note on Legal Issues seeks to discuss and address various legal issues arising out of and pertaining to the preparation of the legislation for the establishment of the NSDI.
Section I-General
Objects
The stated objective of the NSDI is the creation of a national infrastructure for the generation, availability of and access to organised spatial data to be used at community, local, state, regional and national levels to meet the requirements of spatial data for sustainable development.
It is proposed that the NSDI be established as a statutory body, empowered to carry out various functions necessary in order to achieve the broad objectives stated above.
Accordingly, the NSDI will be established through a legislation and will have adequate powers and authority to achieve the following
- Function as a repository for spatial data currently available with, as well as all future data created and maintained by, participating government agencies;
- Co-ordinate, control and manage the receipt of multiple sources of spatial data from participating government agencies and supervise the appropriate format conversion of this data to ensure uniformity of information and inter-operability of data;
- Develop the NSDI metadata of NSDI spatial information;
- Develop a physical infrastructure comprising a network of servers on which an intranet for the storage, exchange, control and access to NSDI Data operates;
- Determine the requirement for particular categories of spatial data and require the creation or collection of spatial data, by any of the participating agencies, to fill such requirement;
- Co-ordinate and authorise the regular revision of existing spatial data in order to reflect changes in spatial features;
- Establish an appropriate standard (the "NSDI Standard") defining the content, scheme, design, process, quality, protocols and other standards necessary in order to ensure standardisation of the data contained in the NSDI repository as well as appropriate formats for its exchange and interoperability;
- Function as a repository for spatial data meeting the NSDI
Standard, that have been generated by private
enterprise;
- Develop and co-ordinate
appropriate quality control measures to ensure
the integrity, standardization, accuracy and
quality of NSDI data, including but not limited
to the establishment of appropriate
certification and accreditation procedures;
- Create mechanisms,
procedures tools and applications (including
appropriate search and access protocols and an
NSDI user interface) to facilitate public access
to NSDI spatial data;
- Develop common
solutions for the discovery, access and use of
spatial data in response to the needs of diverse
user groups;
- Offer consultancy
services on specialised subjects including but
not limited to geodetic, geophysical,
topographical surveys and digital data base to
governmental and non-governmental organizations;
- Co-ordinate
multi-disciplinary mapping activities in
collaboration with governmental and
non-governmental organizations;
- Generate a digital
database of unrestricted public series maps;
- Increase the awareness and understanding of the vision, concept and benefits of the NSDI;
Feasibility
The establishment of the NSDI could take place either through the passage of a legislation or through an executive order of the central government.
In the event the NSDI was to be established through an executive order, the relevant ministry or (where the subject matter of the executive order involves the inputs of more than one ministry) ministries, that is/are competent to issue such executive order, will create the proposed body through the administrative act of issuing an appropriate order constituting the body. However, any administrative or executive authority so constituted will be subject to dissolution through a similar process. In the context of the NSDI, where vast quantities of data are proposed to permanently stored in a repository, it is advisable that the authority with control over such data, be relatively permanent in nature and not subject to dissolution at the executive whim. Accordingly it is advisable that the NSDI be established through a legislation.
A legislation is introduced to parliament in the form of a Bill. This Bill is usually prepared by the concerned ministry or by a specially appointed parliamentary committee. Any Bill which is not a Money Bill may be introduced into either houses of parliament. Once the Bill is passed in the house in which it is introduced, it is then produced before the other house. If both houses agree, the Bill is presented to the President of India for his assent. Once Presidential assent has been received, the Bill is notified in the Official Gazette. The Bill becomes a law on the date on which it is notified in the Official Gazette.