Raipur — In a bid to sharpen the precision of this year’s kharif crop assessment, the Chhattisgarh government has turned to unmanned aerial systems. The conventional girdawari exercise, due for completion in October, will now be reinforced with drone‑generated maps that are cross‑checked by revenue officials on the field.
Drone‑derived maps paired with field verification
Compact UAVs are being dispatched over principal agricultural belts to capture centimetre‑level imagery of field boundaries, crop‑type mosaics and the total cultivated area. These images are converted into a geospatial ledger that logs the exact location of every crop.
Concurrently, revenue teams are undertaking farm visits to validate the aerial records. Any inconsistency between the drone‑produced map and the on‑site observation is flagged for a deeper inquiry.
Ongoing oversight of the girdawari operation
Senior administrators are monitoring the survey’s progress in real time, scrutinising the reports submitted by field crews. When a mismatch emerges—such as a crop listed in official registers that does not correspond to the reality on the ground—the responsible officers must justify the discrepancy.
This two‑layer methodology is intended to prune errors from the state’s crop database and deliver a more trustworthy snapshot of agricultural output.
Detecting illegal opium and cannabis cultivation
The aerial sweep is not confined to lawful kharif crops. Authorities are also leveraging the drone feed to keep tabs on areas prone to illicit opium and cannabis farming. Revenue officers coordinate with police and other agencies; if the imagery or a subsequent field visit suggests suspicious planting, a focused ground inspection follows before any enforcement action is taken.
Officials contend that aerial mapping can swiftly expose hard‑to‑reach pockets, enabling a faster response to potential illegal farms.
Scale of the sowing target
Chhattisgarh has set an ambitious target of sowing kharif crops on 48.69 lakh hectares this season. By 22 September, satellite‑assisted estimates indicated that 48.44 lakh hectares were already under cultivation.
Rice remains the flagship kharif crop, while maize, kodo, kutki, arhar, moong, groundnut and ramtil also feature prominently across the state’s landscape.
The final girdawari round in October is expected to lock in the precise area allocated to each crop.
Why accurate records matter to farmers
Reliable crop data underpins a suite of government programmes—crop‑insurance payouts, disaster relief, compensation and other farmer‑centred schemes. When crop type and cultivated area are recorded with confidence, authorities can pinpoint eligible beneficiaries and channel assistance more efficiently.
By marrying drone technology with traditional field checks, the administration aims to forge a robust, transparent crop database that ensures public support reaches the right hands.
