Chennai: GIS mapping of cityscape to be done by Mar 2022

CHENNAI: Door-to-door surveys, as part of the city corporation’s GIS mapping initiative, have been completed in 160 of the 200 wards, said Corporation officials. The project is set to be completed by March next year.

As part of the project, properties are mapped with drone survey, satellite images, and door-to-door verification, to identify underassessed or unassessed properties which will help the civic body with tax collection. “From the vendor’s side, the project is on track and the date of completion is estimated to be March 2022. It took us a year and a half to get permission for the drone,” said an official.

Drone surveys of 85 per cent of the total 426 sq km area of the city (barring restricted area) have already been completed and door-to-door verification will be done in all remaining wards before the scheduled completion date. Based on the surveys, properties found to be underassessed will be issued with a notice in Form 7 by revenue officials and reassessments will be done. The corporation is taking up to 2,000 reassessments a week, said officials.

Besides properties, utilities and infrastructure within corporation limits are being also mapped. “Drains, manholes, or posts hidden by trees or other objects during the drone survey will be picked up during the field survey. It will also help with delimitation and expansion plans,” said an official.

According to officials, the door-to-door survey in extended areas took more time than the core areas since field staff were met with incorrect street names and new buildings that did not match the management information system records. The project is taken up through TN Urban Infrastructure Financial Services Limited with around Rs 27 crore grant from the World Bank.