Village, town block and district maps will very soon be made available online for the benefit of land buyers, industrialists and realtors.
As part of the reforms aimed at transparency and efficiency in the Revenue Department, the Tamil Nadu government is strengthening its online services. A senior official told The Hindu, “We are designing a portal for the Survey and Settlement Department, and the services through this portal will be launched soon.”
The survey number correlation statements for every district will also be uploaded online, and this is expected to help landowners with the old and new survey/subdivision numbers of a land parcel, the official said.
At present, village maps can be accessed only in person from the taluk offices or a copy of it can be obtained in person from the offices of the Regional Deputy Directors of Survey or the office of the Director of Survey and Settlement in Chennai. As for the survey number correlation statements, only a few districts have uploaded them online.
Village maps primarily help in identifying waterbodies, especially the lesser known channels or streams, and poromboke lands, and in checking the suitability of a land parcel for agriculture. According to the Revenue Department, all 16,721 village maps have been scanned. Town block maps help town planners, property buyers and construction companies with the length and width of streets and roads; hence, they come in handy for obtaining approval for a building plan. District maps help industrialists while opening factories, besides being useful to government agencies and academics. Correlation statements help landowners know their land’s new survey/subdivision numbers if the area revenue records are updated after a town survey. A town survey is undertaken when a revenue unit is upgraded. For instance, the survey is done when a village panchayat is upgraded as a town panchayat.
Delay in survey
The delay in the survey of land, requested by landowners, is expected to come down as the Revenue Department is planning to fill about 600 vacancies for the post of field surveyor. The Department, which has about 800 vacancies for the post, has written to the Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission for recruitment.
The Department also trains diploma-holders in civil engineering to certify them as licensed surveyors. They are offered a three-month training programme at the Survey Training Institute at Orathanadu in Thanjavur district.
