These maps contain information at village and city level about ownership of farms and houses and about every house, block, street markets etc. respectively.
Cadastre is a technical term for a st of records showing the extent, value and ownership (or other basis for use or occupancy) of land. Strictly speaking, a cadastre is a record of areas and values of land and of landholders that originally was compiled for purposes of taxation. In many countries there is, however, no longer any land tax and in practice the cadastre serves two other equally important purposes. It provides a ready means of precise description and identification of particular pieces of land and it acts as a continuous record of rights in land.
A modern cadastre normally consists of a series of large-scale maps or plans, and corresponding registers. Both the plans and the registers may be stored in computers, as discussed in the chapter “computerization of maps and registers”. The present chapter deals with the essential features of cadastral maps with particular reference to the form they take when drawn on paper or displayed on a computer screen. While the survey of an individual parcel of land has in some countries resulted in a “cadastral map” for that plot of land and may have been unconnected to any adjoining land parcels, the true cadastral map covers all parcels within an area rather than isolated plots. It can act as an index for other land parcel surveys that show more detailed information or can be of sufficiently large scale for the dimensions of each plot to be obtainable from the map. In this chapter, and throughout this monograph, the term ‘cadastral map’ will be associated with any parcel of land whether defined by ownership, value or use provided that the parcel has an independent identity and is relevant to the management of land as a resource. A cadastral map will show the boundaries of such parcels but may in addition incorporate details of the resources associated with them, including the physical structures on or beneath them, their geology, soils, and vegetation and the manner in which the land is used.
The scale of cadastral maps is of great importance. Since the object of the map is to provide a precise description and identification of the land, the scale must be large enough for every separate plot of land which may be the subject of separate possession (conveniently called a “survey plot” or “land parcel”) to appear as a recognizable unit on the map. When map data are stored in a computer, they may be drawn at almost any scale and this can give an impression of greater accuracy than the quality of the survey data may warrant.