The Dakshina Kannada Zilla Panchayat plans to digitally document the public assets under each gram panchayat using Global Positioning System (GPS) technology.
Under this project, a GPS-enabled camera will take photographs of public assets such as schools and hospitals. Their latitudinal and longitudinal location are recorded and mapped.
First step
As a first step, Kurnadu gram panchayat in Bantwal taluk has been chosen for the purpose on a pilot basis, P. Shivashankar, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the zilla panchayat, told The Hindu.
In Kurnadu, public assets such as schools, anganwadi centres, primary health centres, water supply projects, post offices and the like have been documented.
This will help eliminate improper planning of development projects. For example, if there is a demand for opening a school under Kurnadu gram panchayat, the CEO can check the details and locations of existing schools.
Specific details
Showing the map of Kurnadu gram panchayat, Mr. Shivashankar said that initially it might appear like a common map. But by clicking on specific icons, details of public assets and their photographs could be obtained. “The GPS-enabled camera also records the distance between the district headquarters and the gram panchayat office,” he said.
At present, the project will not document human habitats (houses) in each gram panchayat. That would be a voluminous and time-consuming task, he said. The cost of documenting public assets in each of the 203 gram panchayats in the district is estimated at Rs. 40,000. The zilla panchayat is working out details on cost-sharing and whether the work should be outsourced or not, he said.
