Raipur — The Chhattisgarh government is turning to unmanned aerial vehicles to sharpen the precision of this year’s kharif crop assessment. The traditional girdawari exercise, due for completion in October, will now be supplemented with drone‑generated maps that are cross‑checked by revenue officers on the ground.
Drone mapping meets field verification
Small‑scale UAVs are being dispatched over major farming belts to capture centimetre‑level images of field limits, crop patterns and total cultivated area. The raw footage is transformed into a geospatial ledger that logs the exact location of each crop variety.
At the same time, revenue teams are making field visits to validate the aerial information. Any inconsistency between the drone‑derived record and the on‑site observation is flagged for deeper investigation.
Continuous monitoring of the girdawari process
Senior officials are closely supervising the survey’s progress, reviewing reports submitted by field crews in real time. When a mismatch appears—such as a crop listed in official registers that does not exist in the field—the responsible officer must provide an explanation.
This two‑tiered methodology aims to cut errors in the state’s crop database and deliver a more reliable picture of agricultural output.
Spotting illegal opium and cannabis cultivation
The aerial sweep is not confined to legal kharif crops. Authorities are also scanning for signs of illicit opium and cannabis farms. Revenue officers coordinate with police and other agencies; if the drone imagery or a subsequent field visit raises suspicion, a targeted inspection is launched before any enforcement action.
Officials argue that high‑resolution mapping can quickly expose hard‑to‑reach pockets, enabling a faster response to potential illegal plantations.
Scale of the sowing target
Chhattisgarh has set an aggressive objective of sowing kharif crops on 48.69 lakh hectares this season. As of 22 September, satellite‑assisted estimates indicated that cultivation had already reached 48.44 lakh hectares.
Rice remains the principal kharif staple, while maize, kodo, kutki, arhar, moong, groundnut and ramtil also feature prominently across the state’s agrarian landscape.
The final round of girdawari in October is expected to lock in the precise area under each crop.
Why precise records matter for farmers
Accurate crop data underpins a host of government schemes—crop‑insurance payouts, disaster relief, compensation and other farmer‑centric programmes. When the crop type and exact cultivated area are reliably recorded, authorities can identify eligible beneficiaries and channel assistance more efficiently.
By marrying drone technology with traditional field verification, the administration aims to build a robust, transparent crop database that ensures public support reaches the right hands.
