India – Soon Ranchi Municipal Corporation will have all the information it can possibly need about the capital thanks to a detailed map of the city including all buildings, houses, roads, bylanes and even drains, that has been prepared by the Jharkhand Space Application Centre (JSAC).
The RMC believes the comprehensive database of images and maps of all 55 wards, prepared by using satellite mapping technology, will help it provide better services to the citizens. It would also help it make property tax collections more efficient.
When civic officials access the system a month from now, not only will they know a building’s exact geographical location — latitude and longitude included — they will also have information on its mode of use — whether residential or commercial — number of floors.
“This will make our task of ensuring civic amenities easier and more efficient,” said R.S. Jaipuriyar, the new RMC chief executive officer. He said he planned to operationalise the system from September.
The JSAC took over two years to complete the satellite mapping of the city. The maps, in digital form, would be handed over to the RMC in a day or two, though hard copies were already with the RMC.
“There are a couple of issues in the software design which need to be sorted out before we can operationalise the system,” Jaipuriyar said.
As per plan, each building would be attached with a holding number allotted by the RMC. Once this is complete, a click on the image of the building would display every detail, including the number of storeys, its manner of use — whether residential or commercial — owner’s name and tax dues, if any. Once ready, Ranchi will be the second city after Pune to have a comprehensive satellite map that facilitates delivery of civic amenities. “Presently, only one ward of Pune has been mapped with space technology,” claimed Ravish Kumar, a junior scientist at JSAC whose team worked with the RMC on this project.
Kumar said the JSAC first took high-resolution satellite images of the city called, “quick bird”. As many as 15 men made extensive field surveys to record each building, street, river and road for three months. “We then attached the information collected from the field survey to the buildings, roads and streets, thereby readying the map for use,” he added.
