The Goa government is all geared up to begin the first comprehensive land survey that the State has undertaken in many decades. The purpose of the survey is to update land records and issue urban property cards, UrPro, to the landowners. Starting this month, the exercise will initially be confined to municipal areas of Panaji, Margao and Cuncolim.
The previous land survey in the state was wholly manual and carried out in 1972. The new survey, however, will make use of digital tools under the Goa (National Geospatial Knowledge Based) Land Survey of Urban Habitations Rules, 2025, which have been recently notified. This move is expected to bring greater accuracy, more transparency, and efficiency in land record management.
Vrushika Kauthankar, Under Secretary (Revenue-I), outlined the procedure: “Wherever a survey of lands in any village, town, or city is directed by the government, the Directorate of Settlement and Land Records shall issue a general notice to the inhabitants. This will inform house owners, mortgagees, residents, NRIs, and other stakeholders to provide all necessary information to ensure correct measurement and rights recording.”
The surveying of government lands in the proposed areas has already been carried out. The next stage will cover private lands, and it will ensure that the interests of individuals and entities are well identified. This will entail requests by authorized officers, who will take into consideration objections and suggestions by various parties. Based on the results or after any court proceedings, a draft UrPro will be developed.
Once drafted, the UrPro will be made available for public inspection for 30 days at prominent locations, as decided by the Directorate of Settlement and Land Records. During this period, any person aggrieved by the details in the draft can file objections before the inspector of surveys and land records or inquiry officer in whose jurisdiction the land is located. If no objections are raised, the draft UrPro will be confirmed as final.
The move is in alignment with the modernization of land management in the state of Goa and will enable property owners to have a digital record of their properties. The property cards in urban areas are likely to make property transactions smoother.
Through the integration of the digital geospatial tools, the government of the region is working to facilitate the ease of land administration, increase the ease of understandability of the laws, and increase the effectiveness of the tool in the region to protect the rights of the dwellers. In the survey, the records are over half a century old.
Panaji, Margao, and Cuncolim are at the forefront of the pilot project survey, and if it is successful, the project may extend to the whole state to document all property in Goa digitally.
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