Raipur — In a bid to sharpen the precision of this year’s kharif crop assessment, Chhattisgarh’s state administration is turning to unmanned aerial vehicles. The conventional girdawari exercise, slated for completion in October, will now be complemented by high‑resolution drone imagery and field verification by revenue officials.
Drone‑derived maps paired with on‑site verification
Small UAVs are being dispatched over major farming belts to capture detailed photographs of field boundaries, crop‑type patterns and cultivated acreage. These images are processed into a digital ledger that pinpoints exactly where each crop is growing.
At the same time, revenue teams are making ground visits to cross‑check the aerial data. Any divergence between the drone‑generated record and the on‑the‑ground observation is flagged for further investigation.
Real‑time oversight of the girdawari exercise
Senior officials are closely monitoring the survey’s progress, reviewing reports submitted by field crews. When a mismatch emerges—such as a crop listed in official registers that does not correspond with reality on the ground—the responsible officers must provide an explanation.
This two‑layer methodology is intended to prune inaccuracies from the state’s crop database and deliver a more trustworthy picture of agricultural output.
Detecting illegal opium and cannabis cultivation
The aerial sweep is not confined to legal kharif crops. Authorities are also leveraging drone feeds 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 hints at suspicious planting, a targeted ground inspection follows before any enforcement action.
Officials believe that aerial mapping can quickly 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‑aided estimates suggested that cultivation had already reached 48.44 lakh hectares.
Rice remains the dominant kharif crop, while maize, kodo, kutki, arhar, moong, groundnut and ramtil also feature prominently across the landscape.
The final girdawari round in October is expected to lock in the exact 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 type of crop and the exact cultivated area are reliably recorded, authorities can pinpoint eligible beneficiaries and channel assistance more efficiently.
By marrying drone technology with traditional field checks, the administration aims to build a robust, transparent crop database that ensures public support reaches the right hands.
