Karnataka: Now, citizens can survey land on their own

In what promises to be a major reform, Karnataka has issued an order allowing citizens to survey their lands on their own without having to wait for a licensed or government-employed surveyor.

According to an order issued by the Revenue Department, private lands can be surveyed and sketched by citizens themselves using the Swavalambi app.

The self-survey facility will be available for lands under single, multiple and joint ownership.

Revenue Minister R Ashoka called it an “administrative reform” that “empowers citizens”.

DH had reported in September 2021 that the government was working on a plan to allow citizens to draw their own boundaries inside properties.

Karnataka has 2.5 crore landholdings or plots. A survey becomes necessary when a plot has multiple owners and the boundaries need to be determined.

There are four types of surveys that citizens commonly need for their lands: 11E sketch, which is needed when a part of a land needs to be sold; Tatkal Phodi, which is to divide the land into parts; pre-conversion sketch, which is when one part of the agricultural land is to be converted for non-agricultural use; and partition deed, for which a sketch is prepared to show one's legal right on a part of agricultural land.

"The number of surveyors is limited and every month we receive over a lakh survey applications. Also, there are some six lakh applications already pending at various stages. This makes citizens wait for several months and, in some cases, years," Ashoka said. "To solve this problem, we've formulated a system for citizens to prepare their own sketches," he said.