Pune, 23rd June 2025: In a major step towards transparent and efficient urban land management, the Settlement Commissioner and Director of Land Records, Maharashtra, has launched an extensive digitisation drive in Pune’s Kharadi area. Under this initiative, more than 13,300 properties covering around 785 hectares will soon get digital property cards through the state’s Mahabhumi portal.
This effort is part of the Central Government’s SVAMITVA (Survey of Villages and Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas) scheme, which was started in 2019 to modernise land records and ensure clear ownership titles. Kharadi, which now falls under the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), is the first urban area in the district to be covered under this scheme.
Swift Work Using Modern Technology
To carry out the project, about 60 officials from Pune, Satara, Sangli, Solapur, and Kolhapur districts were deployed in February to handle field-level verification work. This verification process uses advanced tools like drone surveys, Electronic Total Stations (ETS), rovers, and GIS-enabled city survey software.
Usually a multi-year task, this exercise has been fast-tracked to be completed in just four months, and the digital cards are expected to be ready by August or September this year.
Reliable and Fraud-Resistant Records
The new digital property cards will not only mention the owner’s name but also include declarations of ownership and housing society details. This will increase authenticity, minimise the chances of fraud, and provide more clarity to both individual owners and local authorities.
A pilot project in Kharadi, done with technical help from the National Informatics Centre, successfully completed mapping and surveying within two months. This work was formally approved by the PMC in November last year. By the end of January, notices were sent to property holders to begin the final verification stage.
Multiple Uses and Benefits
Replacing the old 7/12 land extracts, the new digital cards will act as definitive proof of property ownership. They will be linked with tax records and land-use maps, which will help improve tax collection, infrastructure development, urban planning, and even disaster management with the help of precise 3D GIS maps.
The experience gained in Kharadi will help the department expand this model to 23 other villages recently brought under the PMC’s jurisdiction.
This initiative marks a big step in modernising urban land administration in Maharashtra and is expected to set an example for other municipal areas in the state.
