Unmapped Villages Will Get Survey Maps: Ponguleti

Hyderabad: Revenue minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy said survey maps of five villages out of total 413 villages in the state that lacked survey maps would be finalised soon.

In a review meeting held at the Secretariat on Wednesday, Ponguleti revealed that the experimental survey, which was successfully completed in five villages, would result in the issuance of finalised survey boundary maps. The villages are part of a larger group of 413 villages in the state that have been without maps for decades, he added.

Ponguleti criticised the previous BRS government for leaving over 400 villages without survey maps and land records even after ruling the state for ten years, which were leading to land disputes.

The meeting was attended by Chief Minister's principal secretary V. Sheshadri, revenue secretary Lokesh Kumar and survey land settlement director Rajeevgandhi Hanumanthu, among others.

Minister Ponguleti stated that these five villages are part of the initiative to correct historical land mapping errors.

He said that the Congress government, led by Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, was working diligently to address this long-standing problem.

The survey work was carried out in Mahbubnagar district’s Gandeed mandal (Salarnagar), Jagtial district’s Beerpur mandal (Kommanapalli), Khammam district’s Yerrupalem mandal (Mulugumadu), Mulugu district’s Venkatapuram mandal (Nooguru) and Sangareddy district Vatpally mandal (Shaheednagar).

The surveys were conducted using advanced technology such as drones, aerial methods and pure ground-truthing rover techniques.

The minister also said that the survey process involved issuing notices to landowners, holding village meetings and considering objections from landowners before finalising land boundaries. A decision was made to finalise survey boundaries in accordance with the Survey Boundary Act.

As part of the ongoing initiative, officials have been directed to ensure that survey maps reflect the wishes and sentiments of the people and that they meet public expectations.

The minister also noted that any government action should ultimately benefit the common man and farmer.

Further, the government plans to integrate the finalised survey maps with land sale and purchase transactions, making boundary maps mandatory in these processes.

Ponguleti added that, akin to how every citizen has an Aadhaar number, each piece of land would be assigned a unique land number under the Bhu Bharati Act

The meeting also addressed the need to assign new survey numbers to lands with more than five acres in the five villages and ensure that all revenue, forest, endowment and Waqf lands are recorded accurately in official documents.