Getting smarter with smart maps


The data base
Keeping in view of the objective, it was necessary to include the data base for each property. This was of course based on the information maintained in the assessment record of the Corporation. The broad classification of the corporation is (a) CMC property, and (b) other property. Following information is being stored for each property:
  1. Property number
  2. Road/street/lane/bylane etc.
  3. Ward
  4. Owner
  5. Land use: open space, residential house, market, etc.
  6. Number of stories
  7. Area
  8. Constructed space
  9. Tax per year
  10. Last tax paid
The above information can not only be used for the tax purposes but also to plot other information from the data base.

Other Applications: Land use Map, GIS and Utility Mapping
The best way to prepare a land use map of a city or its part should be based on the property lines. The proposed digital maps in vector format will have such property lines. The land use data will be attached with each property. Hence, plotting of the land use data on the digital map will not be difficult. A land use map thus prepared will be very detailed one and will have further scope of enlargement or even reduction. However such land use maps can be based on the standard urban land use classification scheme. Nevertheless, the land use maps so developed will be worked out on the basis of the records of the Corporation which may be different from the actual land use. Further, with the passage of time, the recorded land use will tend to be different from the actual landuse. Hence, a component of field verification is also involved.

Though the objective of this project was not to develop GIS, but this digital base can be used for GlS development as well. Nevertheless. the vector data creation is by layers using MapInfo software. There are other software available in the market where similar work can be performed. Further there is a scope of mosaicing of the maps which will also lead to prepare urban plans, metropolitan plans and regional plans. Recently, a sub-committee has already been appointed to study the application of such digital maps for recording the utility services such as drainage, sewage, etc. Earlier, in the conventional way, such information was recorded in Smart maps as well.

Conclusion
The experience in Calcutta may help in taking up similar initiatives in other cities as well. This case study perhaps provides all varieties of problems which many metropolitan cities face today not only in India but also in other developing countries. The issues are not necessarily limited to updating the old maps but also to continuously add new areas which are being included in the corporation or planning authorities boundaries. Obviously, a part of the urban area can not be kept aside for having maps of different nature. The technology does facilitate in making quantum jumps in mapping. The options and alternatives have to be weighed judiciously before taking up the action.

This experiment is not only a challenging excerise in the field of digital cartography for the benefit of the people at large, but also how the government, corporation and industry can co-operate with each other in solving day to day problems of the country. The progress of such projects depends much on such co-operation.

References
C.M.P.O. (1966), Basic Development Plan-Calcutta Metropolitan District: 1966-1986, Calcutta Metropolitan Planning Organisation, Calcutta.

Dasgupta, S.P. (1990), The structure of Calcutta: Morphology of a congested city, in Jean Racine (ed), Calcutta 1981, Concept Publishing Company, New Delhi, pp. 131-50.

Kundu, A.K., and P. Nag (1989), The Atlas of the City of Calcutta and its Environs, National Atlas & Thematic Mapping Organisation, Calcutta (2 Ed, 1996).

Mitra, Ashok (1979), Where do we go from here? The problems of Calcutta metropolitan region, Nagarlok, Vol. XI, No. 2.

Nag, P. (1987), A proposed base for a geographical information system for India, International Journal on Geographical Information System, Vol. 1, No. 2, pp. 181-7.

Nag, P. (1992), Calcutta through maps, in P.K. Saha (ed), Calcutta: Land and People, Geographical Society of india, Calcutta, pp. 31-9.

Munsi, S. (1988), Calcutta: Problems of land use, Sci-Tech Focus, vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 7-11.

Munsi, Sunil K. (1990), Gensis of the metropolis, in Jean Racine (ed), op. cit, pp. 29-49.

Ray, N.R. (1979), The City of Job Charnock, Victoria Memorial, Calcutta.

S.P.B. (1990), A Perspective Plan for Calcutta: 2011, Development & Planning Department, State Planning Board, Government of West Bengal, Calcutta.

Only the old part of Calcutta is covered by the Smart Map which is roughly 60% of CMC area. For the remaining part, the corporation has to depend on ‘Revised Settlement‘ maps which are basically cadastral/mouza maps at 16"=1 mile

Digitisation of Smart Maps
A joint venture of CMC and NATMO


Calcutta Municipal Corporation’s Estate Management Department and National Thematic Mapping Organization (NATMO) have signed a contract for a joint project which aims at digitising the Smart Maps , details of digitizing facilities like water supply lines, sewers, etc. as well as property records fro the entire city. The project’s initial cost was Rs.66 lakh, which has now raised to Rs. 1 crore , which is being borne fifty-fifty by both the companies. Two other important organisations, Calcutta Improvement Trust (CIT) and the Calcutta Metropolitan Authority (CMDA) also have been enrolled in the project

Underground Infrastuctrure Mapping
The Calcutta Municipal Corporation (CMC) has authorised two foreign companies, AWE Engineers from Germany, and Schlumberger from France to map the underground infrastructure of Calcutta City. The underground infrastructure of Calcutta is a jumble of electric lines, cables, water pipes, and sewers running into each other creating all sorts of problems and confusions which generally lead to accidents and damaged roads.

Using an advanced Radar-based technology, the first step will be mapping of the inner streets of the two selected areas, the area between Barrakpore Bridge through APC road to Sahitya Parishad Street in the north, and the Gariahat area extending from Ballygunge Station to Deshapriya Park in the south. AWE Engineers will be working in the northern part, and Schlumberger will take the southern part of the city. Estimated to cost Rs. 7 lakh for south Calcutta and Rs. 6 lakh for North Calcutta, the project is expected to reduce accidents, cost of digging of roads, trial and error of workmen and the entire hodgepodge.

Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) is also planning for a similar project, which, according to the sources, is in its conceptual phase. In India, almost every Municipal Corporation is unable to maintain the urban infrastructure and the complex network of the cities, and much has to be done to improve the present situation. Even the Indian GIS companies do not have enough facilities for such type of projects, and they have to depend on foreign agencies for technical & financial support.

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