Jammu, Jan 18: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday stated it was heartening to note that Svamitva Yojana had empowered villagers, potentially transforming rural life in India and they (villagers) were using Yojana card not just “mere document but as a means for progress.”
The Prime Minister was interacting with Varinder Kumar, a Svamitva beneficiary from Samba district of Jammu and Kashmir while distributing property cards under Svamitva scheme to property owners across the country through video conferencing.
PM Modi distributed over 65 lakh property cards under the scheme to property owners in over 50000 villages in more than 230 districts across 10 States and 2 Union Territories, including Jammu and Kashmir. Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha too attended the event through video-conferencing.
Besides, the Governors of many states, Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh, Chief Ministers of Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat, Union Minister of Panchayati Raj and Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Rajiv Ranjan Singh and many other dignitaries joined the event through video-conferencing.
Varinder Kumar was among five Svamitva beneficiaries, who got an opportunity to interact with the Prime Minister during the event.
When asked by the PM about his experience of the scheme, Varinder said he was a farmer and he and his family were very happy to have received the property card. He added that they had been living on their land for many generations. “But now having the documents has made us feel proud,” he said.
Expressing his gratitude to the PM, he informed that no one in his village had any documents, despite living in the village for over 100 years.
Asked by the Prime Minister to elaborate on this account, Varinder Kumar said that the property card he received helped resolve his land dispute and now he could mortgage the land and take a loan from the bank, which could help with home repairs and strengthen his family’s financial situation.
When enquired by the PM about the positive changes under the Svamitva Yojana in his village, he said that the property cards received by his village had clearly defined ownership rights for everyone and many disputes related to land and property were resolved to a great extent. Therefore, he added that the villagers could mortgage their land and property to take loans.
He thanked the PM on behalf of the villagers.
PM Modi remarked that he was feeling very happy to speak to everyone.
“I’m happy that people are not just considering the Svamitva Yojana card as a mere document but are also using it as a means for progress. It is heartening to note that the Svamitva initiative is paving the way for the development of people,” the Prime Minister said.
While extending greetings to all the beneficiaries, PM Modi asked the people of J&K to “take good care of their health in such a chilly weather.”
The Svamitva scheme was launched by the Prime Minister with a vision to enhance the economic progress of rural India by providing ‘Record of Rights’ to households owning houses in inhabited areas in villages through the latest drone technology for surveying.
Besides Varinder Kumar, other beneficiaries who interacted with the Prime Minister included Manohar Mewada from Sehore, Madhya Pradesh; Rachana from Sri Ganganagar, Rajasthan; Roshan Sambha Patil from Nagpur, Maharashtra and Gajendra Sangeetha from Raigad, Odisha.
Addressing the occasion, the PM remarked that today was a historic day for the villages and the rural areas of India and greeted all the beneficiaries and the citizens on the occasion.
He said that five years ago, the Svamitva scheme was launched to ensure that the people residing in the rural areas received their property cards. He remarked that different states refer to property ownership certificates by various names, such as Gharoni, Adhikar Abhilekh, Property Card, Malmatta Patrak, and Awaasiya Bhumi Patta.
“Over 1.5 crore people have been issued Svamitva cards in the past 5 years,” he said.
The Prime Minister remarked that under the Svamitva Yojana, around 2.25 crore people in villages received legal documents for their homes.
Stating that the 21st century presents numerous challenges, including climate change, water scarcity, health crises, and pandemics, the Prime Minister highlighted that another significant challenge confronting the world was property rights and the lack of legal property documents.
The Prime Minister cited a United Nations study that revealed many people in various countries did not have proper legal documents for their property. He added that the UN emphasized that reducing poverty required people to have property rights.
He mentioned a renowned economist who wrote a book on the challenge of property rights, stating that the small amount of property owned by villagers is often “dead capital.”
The PM noted that despite having property worth millions of crores, villagers often lacked legal documents, leading to disputes and even illegal occupation by powerful individuals. He added that without legal documents, banks also kept their distance from such properties.
The Prime Minister highlighted that previous governments did not take concrete steps to address this issue. He said that in 2014, the Government decided to tackle the challenge of property documentation through the Svamitva Yojana.
Elaborating on the Yojana, he said it involved mapping houses and lands in villages using drones and providing legal documents for residential properties to villagers.
“India has over 6 lakh villages, with drone surveys completed in nearly half of them,” remarked the Prime Minister.
He highlighted that after receiving legal documents, lakhs of people had taken loans from banks based on their property, starting small businesses in their villages. He added that many of these beneficiaries were small and medium farmer families, for whom these property cards became a significant guarantee of economic security. The Prime Minister noted that Dalit, backward, and tribal families were most affected by illegal occupations and long court disputes. He remarked that with legal certification, they would now be free from this crisis.
He mentioned, “An estimate suggests that once property cards are issued in all villages, it will unlock economic activities worth over 100 lakh crore rupees. Substantial capital that will be added to the country’s economy. Our government is earnestly working to implement Gram Swaraj on the ground.”
He said that Yojana had significantly improved village development planning and execution. The Prime Minister noted that property rights would resolve disputes over land ownership, such as identifying Panchayat land and grazing areas, thereby empowering Gram Panchayats economically. He emphasized that property cards would enhance disaster management in villages, making it easier to claim compensation during incidents like fires, floods, and landslides. Noting that land disputes were common for farmers, and obtaining land documents is challenging, often requiring multiple visits to officials and leading to corruption, the Prime Minister said that to reduce these issues, land records were being digitized.
He highlighted that Svamitva and Bhu-Aadhaar were foundational systems for village development.
He added that Bhu-Aadhaar provided a unique identity to land, with around 23 crore Bhu-Aadhaar numbers issued, making it easy to identify land plots. “Over the past 7-8 years, approximately 98 percent of land records have been digitized, and most land maps are now digitally available,” PM added.
“Women’s empowerment has been central to every major scheme over the past decade, recognizing their significant role in building a developed India,” he said. PM Modi underlined that the Svamitva Yojana had strengthened women’s property rights, with many states including wives’ names on property cards alongside their husbands. He emphasized the positive coincidence that Svamitva Yojana drones were helping women secure property rights. He added that the mapping work in the Svamitva Yojana was being done by drones, and under the Namo Drone Didi Yojana, village women were becoming drone pilots, assisting in agriculture and earning additional income.
The Prime Minister remarked that the Svamitva Yojana had empowered villagers, potentially transforming rural life in India.
