New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi distributed property cards under SVAMITVA Scheme to beneficiaries across 10 states and 2 union territories. The initiative aims to provide legal ownership of residential properties in rural areas, promoting financial empowerment and resolving long-standing property disputes in villages.
Addressing the event virtually, PM Modi emphasized the importance of property rights in the development of villages. He said, “Ownership and land base… these two systems are going to become the basis for the development of villages.”
PM Modi highlights Mahatma Gandhi’s vision of rural development
The Prime Minister highlighted the government’s efforts in digitizing land records, a step toward modernizing the rural economy. “In the last 7-8 years, about 98 percent of land records have been digitized. Land has also been given a unique identity through Bhu-Aadhaar. About 23 crore Bhu-Aadhaar numbers have been issued,” he said.
Reflecting on Mahatma Gandhi’s vision of rural development, he said, “Mahatma Gandhi used to say- India lives in villages, the soul of India is in villages. The work of truly implementing this sentiment of revered Bapu has been done in the last decade.”
The SVAMITVA (Survey of Villages and Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas) scheme was launched in 2020 to map rural residential land using drone technology and provide villagers with ownership cards. PM Modi said, “The previous governments did not take any concrete steps in this direction. So when our government was formed in 2014, we decided to tackle this challenge of property papers and we started the Swamitva Yojana.”
Highlighting the use of modern technology, he added, “We decided that with the help of drones, mapping of houses and lands will be done in every village of the country. The villagers will be given papers of their residential property.”
UN said property rights important for poverty alleviation: PM Modi
PM Modi also highlighted the global challenge of property rights. “The United Nations clearly said that if poverty is to be reduced then it is very important to have property rights,” he said.
Describing the initiative as a historic milestone for the rural economy, he said, “Today is a very historic day for the villages of the country, for the rural economy. The ownership scheme was started 5 years ago so that people living in villages can be given their legal proof. In the last 5 years, these ownership cards have been given to about 1.5 crore people.”
As part of the ongoing effort, more than 65 lakh families received ownership cards under the programme. The Prime Minister pointed out the benefits of property rights, including financial empowerment and easier claims in cases of disasters. “Now, with the availability of property rights, the problems of the Gram Panchayats will be resolved, and they will also become financially empowered,” he said.
