Purchase High-Quality Rovers for Fast and Accurate Land Surveys: Deputy CM Ajit Pawar

Mumbai, Aug 2025 : Advanced rovers are essential to streamline, enhance the accuracy, and accelerate land measurement activities in Maharashtra. The Revenue and Land Records Department currently requires around 1,200 rovers. For this, Rs. 132 crore has been allocated for rover procurement, and Rs. 1,600 crore has been sanctioned for ongoing revenue department construction projects. These decisions received administrative approval during a meeting chaired by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar. He instructed that only high-quality rovers and laptops be purchased.

The meeting, held at Mantralaya, reviewed financial provisions for constructing various Revenue Department office buildings. Present were Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule, Additional Chief Secretary (Finance) O.P. Gupta, Additional Chief Secretary (Revenue) Vikas Kharge, Principal Secretary (Finance) Saurabh Vijay, Deputy CM’s Secretary Rajesh Deshmukh, and via video conference, Settlement Commissioner and Director of Land Records Suhas Divse and Inspector General of Registration Ravindra Binwade.

Deputy CM Ajit Pawar stated that the E-Survey 2.0 initiative has been implemented for land measurement in the state. After surveys, latitude and longitude are determined using rovers, and the survey maps are digitally uploaded to the GIS system for public access. Out of a total requirement of 4,000 rovers based on current staff strength, approval is being granted for the purchase of 1,200 rovers. He directed that the tendering process be initiated immediately. Additionally, he instructed that laptops be procured from the PLA (Personal Ledger Account) of the Land Acquisition and Land Records Department.

Various Revenue Department office and residential projects are underway in the state. Several elected representatives have requested approval for new constructions and budgetary provisions for pending works. Recognizing these requests and the demands made by Revenue Minister Bawankule, Deputy CM Pawar approved a provision of Rs. 1,500 crore for pending and new office buildings under the Revenue Department, and Rs. 100 crore for Land Records offices—making a total allocation of Rs. 1,600 crore. He instructed that work on all projects commence immediately without delay and stated that remaining budget allocations will be made post-December.

Minister Bawankule emphasized that efforts should be made to locate Land Records offices near District Collector offices. He also suggested that since tehsildars often need to conduct raids at illegal sand mining sites, vehicles similar to police patrol cars should be procured for their operations.