Srinagar, Oct. 3 -- By Mohammad Amin Mir

Survey No. 10 in Levdora, a village in Tehsil Qazigund of Anantnag district, stands in the revenue record at 8 kanals and 11 marlas. Measured on the spot against the village Massavi, the original settlement map, it came to 7 kanals and 5 marlas. The field is short by 1 kanal and 6 marlas, and the paper has no way of knowing it.

I served as Patwari of Levdora for about two years, roughly a decade ago, and the disparity was no isolated case.

Survey Nos. 32, 64 and 186 showed similar differences between the Record of Rights and the map, along with several other fields.

These are professional observations from my tenure, with no comprehensive survey behind them, and they need testing against the or...