India to host international workshop on land governance

New Delhi: In a move to bolster land record modernization efforts, the Union Ministry of Panchayati Raj in collaboration with the Ministry of External Affairs and the Haryana Institute of Public Administration (HIPA) to hold an International Workshop on Land Governance from 24th March to 29th March, 2025 at Gurugram.

“The workshop will feature comprehensive sessions on drone-based land survey techniques, high-resolution mapping, and geospatial technologies that can transform land administration. Advancements in land governance and sustainable development will be discussed in the event highlighting India’s commitment to modernizing land governance” said a statement from the Ministry of Panchayati Raj.

The workshop will bring together delegates from 22 countries across Africa, Latin America, and South-East Asia to explore innovative approaches for addressing land governance challenges globally.

More than 40 senior officials from 22 countries, including Turkmenistan, Colombia, Zimbabwe, Fiji, Mali, Lesotho, Sierra Leone, Venezuela, Mongolia, Tanzania, Uzbekistan, Equatorial Guinea, Kiribati, São Tomé and Príncipe, Liberia, Ghana, Armenia, Honduras, Eswatini, Cambodia, Togo, and Papua New Guinea, are expected to participate in the International Workshop on Land Governance, the statement said.

“The six-day workshop aims to facilitate mutual learning and exchange of best practices among diverse stakeholders. It will showcase India’s pioneering SVAMITVA (Survey of Villages with Amalgamated Mapping, Mapping, and Infrastructure for Village Development, and Land Use) scheme which has successfully mapped rural inhabited areas using drone technology to provide legal ownership documents to property owners,” the statement said.

Technical sessions will include hands-on demonstrations of drone survey methods, data processing techniques, ground verification processes, and GIS integration, the statement added.