Context: On Panchayati Raj Diwas (April 24th), the Prime Minister of India launched ‘Swamitva Yojana’ or Ownership Scheme to map residential land ownership in the rural sector using modern technology like the use of drones.

• The scheme aims to revolutionise property record maintenance in India.

key features of the ‘Swamitva Yojana’

• The scheme is piloted by the Panchayati Raj ministry.
• The residential land in villages will be measured using drones to create a non-disputable record.
• Property card for every property in the village will be prepared by states using accurate measurements delivered by drone-mapping. These cards will be given to property owners and will be recognised by the land revenue records department.

Benefits of the scheme

• The delivery of property rights through an official document will enable villagers to access bank finance using their property as collateral.
• The property records for a village will also be maintained at the Panchayat level, allowing for the collection of associated taxes from the owners.
• The money generated from these local taxes will be used to build rural infrastructure and facilities.
• Freeing the residential properties including land of title disputes and the creation of an official record is likely to result in appreciation in the market value of the properties.
• The accurate property records can be used for facilitating tax collection, new building and structure plan, issuing of permits and for thwarting attempts at property grabbing.

Need for and significance of the scheme

• The need for this Yojana was felt since several villagers in the rural areas don’t have papers proving ownership of their land. In most states, survey and measurement of the populated areas in the villages has not been done for the purpose of attestation/verification of properties.
• The new scheme is likely to become a tool for empowerment and entitlement, reducing social strife on account of discord over properties.

Context: On the occasion of National Panchayati Raj Day 2020 (April 24), PM Modi launched a unified e-GramSwaraj Portal and mobile application.
About the portal

• The egramswaraj.gov.in portal is one single interface on which the details will be listed panchayat wise. 
• The platform will provide records of work from planning to the implementation in every village panchayat under Gram Panchayati Development Plan (GPDP).
• Anybody can create an account on the Gram Swaraj Portal and know about the developmental works of villages.
• The Gram Swaraj Portal and mobile application will boost e-governance in the Panchayati raj institutions across the nation.

Benefits

• Monitoring and recording all the work via Gram Swaraj Portal/App will help speed-up the implementation of projects in village areas.
• As it will contain the details of ongoing development works and the fund allocated for the projects, one can access and know about the groundwork.
• All the details related to Panchayat Sachiv and Panch can be viewed on Gram Swaraj Portal.
• The works of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj will be accessible through Gram Swaraj Portal.
• The Gram Swaraj Portal and application will provide a boost in transparency by decentralized planning of development projects, with progress reports updates and increased accountability