Hyderabad: Nearly 60 villages, some on the city outskirts, do not have maps which show their boundaries, survey numbers, patta and government land, area of lakes and full tank levels.
This came to light during the exercise to integrate the different master plans into one common document that was taken up by the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA).
HMDA found water bodies and survey numbers in a few areas missing and procured maps in 848 villages outside the GHMC to geo-code locations through the geographical information system (GIS).
It faced a problem in locating maps of over 140 villages, many of which were located after pursuing the office of commissioner and director, settlements survey and land records, at Narayanguda. This negligence of not maintaining government records is being attributed to changes initiated by successive governments in the last three decades.
“The patwari system in villages was abolished by the NTR government in 1985. The post changed to village assistant, village administrative officer, panchayat secretary and VRO. There appeared to be no accountability, and village records were not maintained,” said an official.
The reality boom and demand for land on the city outskirts has led to corruption, with ground staff colluding with local leaders and property owners to make money. This resulted in the disappearance of village records, said a retired revenue official.
Villages with no maps
Ibrahimpatnam Khalsa
Wargal
Banda Raviryal
Taramatipet
Jinnaram
Manoharabad
Nomula village
Kandukur village
Venkatapuram
Maps can be redrawn using account books
The missing maps can be reconstructed using nine inter-related account books. Pahani will have information about each survey number in the village, size and type of land.
This is a big task that will take up to a fortnight for surveyors to physically measure the land.
According to an official in the commissioner of survey settlements and land records, the department gets complaints of missing village maps through individuals who approach the office after filing RTI pleas. It’s the responsibility of the revenue staff to maintain key records.
