KOLKATA: Even after the passage of more than a year of the historic land boundary agreement between India and Bangladesh and the exchange of 162 enclaves, Google Maps still shows the enclaves as they were before the Aug 2, 2015 exchange of territory.
One of the most viewed maps globally, Google Maps is yet to update the information about the enclaves. An official communication by Google to Express through email stated: “We are actively reviewing the information for this border update. The process to secure accurate information resulting from the Land Boundary Agreement was complex. But the update should happen soon.”
However, securing the accurate information has taken too long this time for Google Maps. Incidentally, Google Maps was one of the first satellite-based map services to indicate Telangana state as a separate state.
On the Indo-Bangladesh enclaves, other satellite-based map services such as Bing, Open Street, Map Quest and Here Maps have updated their maps showing the revised borders between the two countries. However, accuracy of the exact border demarcation on the map is an issue, where Google Maps may score over others.
“The Google Maps show almost the exact location of a place. I was researching on the enclaves and compared the shapes and area of the enclaves shown still in Google Maps with official records to find they are quite accurate,” said a US-based researcher to Express over phone to whom the delay in updating the map came as a boon.
The NDA government had on May 5 this year proposed a law where wrong depiction of maps, more specifically the borders of the country can invite a fine of up to Rs 100 crore and 7 years in prison.
The draft ‘Geospatial Information Regulation Bill 2016’ will make it mandatory to acquire permission from the government before acquiring, disseminating, publishing or distributing any geospatial information about the country. The draft Bill will require Google to apply for licence to run online satellite-based map services such as Google Maps and Google Earth.