Centre dismisses rumours over NAKSHA survey in Goa, says land titles remain protected

The Centre on Monday dismissed what it called "groundless rumours" surrounding the NAKSHA pilot project in Goa, asserting that the GIS-based land mapping exercise will not alter property ownership, lead to land acquisition or result in higher property taxes.

The Department of Land Resources, which comes under the Ministry of Rural Development, said all existing property titles, boundaries and official land records remain fully protected and unaffected by the National Geospatial Knowledge-based Land Survey of Urban Habitations (NAKSHA) project.

Implemented under the Digital India Land Records Modernisation Programme (DILRMP), NAKSHA is a GIS-based urban land parcel mapping initiative aimed at improving town planning, modernising land administration and optimising public utility layouts across states and Union Territories.

The department said the rights of non-resident landowners, including those living abroad, are fully safeguarded and that absence during a survey visit will not affect ownership rights.

It said the project includes multiple stages of verification and notified public viewing periods to protect the interests of absentee owners.

Property ownership will continue to be determined under existing legal provisions and valid land titles, and no individual can claim another person's land merely because they were present during the survey, it added.

The ministry also clarified that the exercise is limited to mapping land parcels and is unrelated to land acquisition. It said the survey does not involve the government taking over private land and will not be used to increase local property taxes.

Existing legal disputes over land ownership or boundaries will remain subject to judicial and administrative processes and will not be decided through the survey, the department said.

According to the ministry, the physical ground-truthing phase has been completed and the formal inquiry process will be held from July 16 to August 14.

Property owners have been asked to appear before the concerned Inspector at the Office of the Inspector of Survey and Land Records in Margao with documents relating to their property titles. Officials will assist citizens through the verification process, it said.

The department urged people to rely only on official information and participate in the exercise.