New Delhi, Dec. 3 -- Even as India's rural land-mapping has progressed substantially, most urban areas lack reliable, up-to-date maps and clear ownership data. This gap leads to land disputes, inefficient property transactions, poor municipal tax collection and delays in infrastructure planning.

With over 600 million people expected to live in Indian cities by 2031, the central government implemented the NAKSHA (National Geospatial Knowledge-based Land Survey of Urban Habitations) programme to modernize and digitize India's urban land records, which remain outdated, incomplete and often inaccurate.

Once the pilot-phase survey of 157 urban local bodies, which started in February, is completed, the next phase will cover 1,000 cities, with...