The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : SCB to begin survey for GIS mapping

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Saturday, Jul 12, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

SCB to begin survey for GIS mapping

It is one among the 60-odd cantonments in the country to undertake the project

Survey by Institute of Electronic Governance
Satellite data for entire area sourced from NRSA

HYDERABAD: The Secunderabad Cantonment Board (SCB) will be starting its ambitious comprehensive mapping survey for mapping properties and civic utilities to develop an integrated GIS system from Monday.

During the next three to four months, two-member expert teams will be fanning out in all its eight wards armed with a register and a digital camera to record properties and take down detailed notes like ownership, usage, category, etc., from the people.

The survey being taken up by the Institute of Electronic Governance (IEG) has been cleared by the Government of India and SCB is the only one among the 60-odd cantonments in the country to be undertaking the project.

Ground-level information gathered through the survey will help develop the GIS system to provide for better civic amenities and administration. SCB Chief Executive Officer V. Premchand said satellite data for the entire area has been sourced from the National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA) at a cost of Rs. 1.1 lakh and properties up to 60 centimetres resolution have been obtained.

The satellite imagery was taken in May and this will be juxtaposed with the ground level information to make up the GIS data. A pilot project was already conducted for Gun Rock Enclave area and various issues that have cropped during the work have been ironed out, he said.

What makes the work interesting is that for the first time the SCB will have factual information about people and properties as well as utilities in its area if done diligently. Lack of such data has been a stumbling block in preparing a precise tax base, planning water connections, etc.

BPL families

The survey will also be covering below the poverty line (BPL) families to take up targeted social welfare schemes later on, pointed out Mr. Premchand. Eleven tax inspectors of SCB will be assisting the experts in their work which will also help demarcate exact civilian area boundaries since none of the new colonies come under it.

The integrated GIS will help in monitoring civic works, establish citizen information centres, online information on various properties and grievance system, route maps, vehicle tracking system, etc., he added.

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