The office of the settlement commissioner and director of land records in Maharashtra has made the decision to digitize property records for over 13,300 holdings that span 785 hectares in Kharadi, as reported by officials on Monday. The property cards are anticipated to be uploaded onto the Mahabhumi portal by the end of August or the beginning of September.
This initiative, which is part of the Central government’s ownership scheme initiated in 2019, seeks to enhance urban land management. In the Pune district, it will first be implemented in Kharadi, which is currently within the limits of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC).
In February, the commissioner’s office mobilized approximately 60 officials from the districts of Pune, Satara, Sangli, Solapur, and Kolhapur to carry out door-to-door inquiries. The verification process is being conducted using advanced technologies, including drones, ETS machines, rovers, and specialized city survey software. Settlement commissioner Suhas Dhivse informed that each case is undergoing thorough checks, and the process is expected to conclude by the end of July. “The digital property cards are anticipated to be uploaded by August or September.
We are conducting the inquiry work at our office level, and it should be finalized soon.” This is a significant undertaking, but officials are confident of completing it by August or September, stated Rajendra Gole, deputy director of urban land measurement. “Each property card will not only feature the owner’s name but also the deed of declaration and the name of the housing society.” Officials indicated that the process, which would normally require two to three years, is being completed in just four months due to the incorporation of technology.
A pilot project, conducted with assistance from the National Informatics Centre, was successfully carried out in Kharadi, with mapping finalized and approved by PMC in merely two months. The survey work received formal confirmation from the civic body in November of the previous year. Specimen notices were distributed to property holders in late January, signaling the commencement of the verification phase.
The digital property cards are set to take the place of the conventional 7/12 extracts, which officials assert will mitigate the risk of land fraud and enhance the transparency of ownership records. Digital tax registers and ground control points are additionally being utilized to facilitate verification.
“The department is focusing on the Kharadi region before proceeding to conduct similar surveys in 23 other villages that have recently been incorporated into the municipal corporation limits,” Gole stated. He mentioned that the digitization process would not only be advantageous for property owners but would also assist the civic administration in urban planning, taxation, infrastructure development, and disaster management through the use of 3D GIS maps.
