Karnataka is set to be the first State to initiate what will be a new, accurate and publicly available satellite based database of its forestlands.

The work also makes the Forest Department an early non-aviation user of GAGAN, the Indian augmentation of Global Positioning System (GPS).

The exercise follows a Supreme Court directive to States almost four years ago to update and put up their respective forest maps.

The maps are meant to rid authorities of ambiguities related to forest boundaries and give clarity to forest administrators, revenue officials as also the public, according to R.K. Srivastava, Chief Conservator of Forests (Headquarters). The department completed a pilot of 220 villages in 2014–15, covering four types of landscapes.

Mr. Srivastava told The Hindu that the department would totally map 10,893 villages that have forests once the standard operating procedures for the work are released in May. Estimated at over Rs. 27 crore, the geospatial database of forestlands pilot has used data from the Cartosat-2 satellite.