Covid-19 has taught us the lesson that we have to be self sufficient, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a video conference with various village panchayats.

Sporting a gamchha (cotton towel) as a mask, Modi said that all villages, districts and States should strive to be self sufficient.

Drone mapping of villages will be done under Swamitva Yojana, a digital initiative which will enable the provision of title deeds to owners following an assessment. “This will help owners to apply for loans from banks. Disputes related to property can also be settled,” said Modi, as he reiterated the need for all villagers to maintain social distancing.

Various villages panchayat sarpanchs (heads) described the steps they have taken to handle the pandemic. These include quarantine measures, following the “respect all, suspect all” mantra, and converting schools into quarantine centres.

With the rains approaching, we have to take steps to prevent Covid-19 from spreading, said Modi, as he called for the use of the Aarogya Setu app by all villagers.

Meanwhile, an official statement said the GramSwaraj portal, a new initiative of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, will provide the gram panchayats with a single interface to prepare and implement their Gram Panchayat Development Plans.

The Swamitva Scheme provides for an integrated property validation solution for rural India, said the statement. The demarcation of inhabited land in rural areas would be done by the use of the latest surveying methods such as drone technology with the collaborated efforts of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, State Panchayati Raj Department, State Revenue Department and Survey of India.

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