Srinagar, Aug 11 (KNO): The Centre on Tuesday informed the Lok Sabha that 81,305 property cards have been prepared and distributed in Jammu and Kashmir under the SVAMITVA Scheme, while 18,788 property cards have been prepared and 15,623 distributed in Ladakh.
The information was given by Union Minister of Panchayati Raj Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh in reply to a starred question raised by Lok Sabha member Tangella Uday Srinivas regarding the potential of the SVAMITVA Scheme to enhance own-source revenue and property tax collection of Gram Panchayats.
According to the government data, accessed by the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), drone surveys have been completed in 4,497 villages in Jammu and Kashmir, while property cards have been prepared for 2,130 villages. A total of 81,305 property cards have been prepared and the same number distributed to property owners in J&K.
In Ladakh, drone surveys have been completed in all 232 notified villages. Property cards have been prepared for 225 villages, with 18,788 cards prepared and 15,623 distributed to property owners.
The minister said the main objective of the SVAMITVA Scheme is to provide Record of Rights to property owners in rural inhabited areas. Rural inhabited land is demarcated using drone surveys and Continuously Operating Reference Stations (CORS) technology to create high-accuracy maps of village abadi areas.
The government said an impact evaluation of the scheme was conducted through IIM Ahmedabad to assess its impact on bank loan uptake. The study found a substantial increase in bank loan amounts availed against property cards issued under the scheme.
As per the information available with the Ministry, 11,147 loans worth Rs 1,713 crore have been disbursed against SVAMITVA property cards across the country. In Jammu and Kashmir, 29 loans amounting to Rs 397.21 lakh (about Rs 3.97 crore) have been disbursed, while in Ladakh nine loans worth Rs 161.18 lakh (about Rs 1.61 crore) have been availed.
On the question of whether the scheme has enhanced Panchayat own-source revenue or property tax collection, the Minister said the Ministry of Panchayati Raj has not conducted any study on the impact of SVAMITVA on Panchayat own-source revenue or Gram Panchayat property tax, as the matter falls under the domain of State Governments.
The Centre also clarified that it does not maintain State/UT-wise data on own-source revenue and property tax collected by Panchayats, as Panchayats are a subject under the State List and States are empowered to authorise Panchayats to levy and collect taxes, duties, tolls and fees.
On whether SVAMITVA records are being used for property tax assessment and collection, the Minister said the Ministry does not maintain data on the number of Gram Panchayats using the records for this purpose, as assessment and collection of property tax are functions of the respective State Governments and Gram Panchayats.
The minister further said that the Ministry has not issued separate guidelines for integration of SVAMITVA records with Panchayat property tax administration, nor does it have a separate proposal to expand the use of SVAMITVA data for strengthening Panchayat own-source revenue.
However, he said the geospatial data and property records generated under the SVAMITVA Scheme can be utilised by respective State Governments and Gram Panchayats to strengthen their revenue sources—(KNO)