Highlight the key components of SWAMITVA scheme and its intended benefits. Also, discuss the potential issues in its implementation.

Land records and their digitization is the key to India’s development in various sectors and hence have been emphasized upon by the government. SWAMITVA scheme of government tries to digitize all the land records of India to help in its effective identification.

Key Components:

• Digitizing lands.
• Data with local Tehsils.
• Effective management of land.
• SWAMITVA cards to be given.
• Help in land reforms and identification of Benami properties.

Intended benefits of the scheme:

• Will reduce the ghost land owners and hence clarity in land records.
• Will increase the transparency in land revenue and enhance the governments’ land reforms commitment.
• Will increase the potential for consolidation of land.
• Will increase land specific interventions and enhance its productivity.
• Will lead to reduction in inflated land costs.
• Will lead to reduced disputes and property cases in courts.

Potential issues in its implementation:

• The problem of gradual digitisation leading to impatience.
• Local support is not proper, leading to problems.
• Problems in designating the agricultural land as boundaries formed leads to disputes.
• The ghost owners being rich and influential are causing obstacles in implementation.
• The lack of human resource for the work is a major issue plaguing the scheme’s implementation.
• Lack of involvement of PRIs and local administration’s apathy leads to difficulty.

The SWAMITVA scheme will bring an era of reforms with proper digitisation of beneficiaries and targeted delivery of benefits. It speedy implementation is the need of hour.

Topics: GS-II: Government Policies and Interventions for Development in Various Sectors • GS-II: E Governance Applications Models Successes Limitations Potential • GS-III: Economic Growth Development