New Delhi: In a first such comprehensive exercise since Independence, the government has surveyed 17.78 lakh acres of defence land using the latest technologies such as three-dimensional modelling, drone and satellite imageries.
The defence ministry said the mammoth exercise of surveying about 1.61 lakh acres of defence land inside cantonments and 16.17 lakh acres outside cantonments was started in October 2018 and is now completed.
“It is a remarkable achievement since, for the first time after Independence, entire defence land has been surveyed by using latest survey technology,” it said.
The ministry said the magnitude of landholding, the location of land in approximately 4,900 pockets, inaccessible terrain in many places and involvement of various stakeholders made it one of the “largest” land surveys in India.
It said modern survey technologies such as Electronic Total Station, Differential Global Positioning System as well as drone and satellite imageries were used to ensure “reliable, robust and time-bound” outcomes.
“For the first time, drone imagery-based survey technology was used for survey of lakhs of acres of defence land in Rajasthan. The entire area was surveyed with the help of Surveyor General of India in a matter of weeks, which earlier used to take years,” the ministry said in a statement.
It said satellite imagery-based survey was carried out for the first time for many defence land pockets.
The Directorate General Defence Estates that operates under the Ministry of Defence was the nodal agency for the survey.
The ministry said out of 17.78 lakh acres, 8.90 lakh acres was surveyed during the last three months.
