Tamil Nadu to develop AI-based smartphone app to detect land encroachments

CHENNAI: With detecting and initiating action against unauthorised constructions on private lands and preventing encroachments on government lands becoming a difficult task, the State government has decided to develop an artificial intelligence (AI) based automated detection software and smartphone application.

According to the Directorate of Town and Country Planning (DTCP), the proposed software platform and database will be developed using cutting-edge technologies like satellite imagery, Geographical Information Systems (GIS), and data science. A geodatabase will be created, based on which, AI and machine learning will enable automated detection and enforcement action.

The AI-based automated platform will be first implemented in Coimbatore on a pilot basis. Based on the outcome there, other urban local bodies and corporations, including Chennai, will be on-boarded to the platform after required customisation.

The geodatabase will have data of plot boundaries, existing building footprints and associated attribute data. The details will be obtained from single-window portal for planning permission; city master plans; detailed development plans; building, and layout approval system issued prior to the online planning permission process; building and layout approvals issued by local bodies under their power delegation; and digitised parcel boundaries and associated attribute data for both planned and non-planned area.

Using the information in the geodatabase, the AI platform will identify progressive changes in land use within government and private lands. It will alert officials about change in land use, encroachments, and unauthorised construction.

Apart from detecting violations and encroachments, the application will also continuously monitor green cover across different geographic regions. "This functionality shall help urban planners and environmental authorities visualise the health and spread of vegetation, as well as monitor deforestation or urban expansion," the directorate said.

The planning authority has invited consultants to develop the software and smartphone application. The selected consultant should roll out the application within 6 months and operate it for 12 months. After that, the DTCP will operate and maintain the platform.