The regulations in force

THE regulations in force on Survey of India maps are as follows:

All topographical and geographical maps (a) of areas between the national borders and a demarcation about 50 kilometres inside the border or coastal line on scales of 1:1 million and larger north of 20o latitude, including the maps of Bhutan on the same scale; (b) of the coastal belt on scales larger than 1:1 million (that is, 1:250,000 and above) south of 20o latitude; and (c) of outlying islands, that is, Andaman and Nicobar, Lakshadweep, Minicoy and Aminidivi, on scales of 1:1 million and larger are restricted and the rest of the area in the interior of the country are unrestricted (vide notification of April 15, 1968).

Maps are permitted to indicate planimetric control data up to one minute of arc and heights above mean sea level rounded off to 10 metres in the restricted zone and up to 0.1 m in the unrestricted zone (vide notification of February 26, 1979).

Besides, there are also restrictions with regard to reproduction and export of both restricted and de-restricted maps.

As regards digitised topographic data (of restricted or unrestricted areas), the current policy is governed by an Office Memorandum issued by the Ministry of Defence on July 13, 1998. Effectively, this has de-restricted and decentralised the availability of digital data by designating nine government agencies, besides the Survey of India, to "undertake digitisation of topomaps of scales up to 1:50,000 of unrestricted area already published by the Survey of India, after deleting defence/civil vital areas (V.As)/Vital Points (V.Ps) and important strategic locations". Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and private agencies, which need digital data for Geographic Information Systems-related activities, have to register and enter into a memorandum of understanding with any of these for obtaining the digitised data they require in "stripped form". The conditions laid down include vetting of any "value addition" by the Survey of India.