A day after several farmers gathered at the SDM office in Maur raising suspicions over a drone survey being conducted in the area, Department of Town and Country Planning clarified that the exercise was aimed at preparing a Geographic Information System (GIS)-based master plan.Sandeep Kumar, Senior Town Planner, Bathinda, said the master plan would provide useful data for government schemes. It will cover Maur Municipal Council and some adjoining villages, and data on existing land use is being collected for it.He said an existing land-use plan identifies areas designated for agriculture, commercial activities, buildings, water resources, forests and roads. “Master plans for various areas are prepared on the basis of this plan. The department is conducting surveys across the state for this purpose,” he said.Kumar said collecting land-use data manually was time-consuming, which prompted the government to use drone technology. Private agencies have been assigned the survey work and permission for flying drones was obtained from the District Magistrate’s office, he added.He said the department has been tasked with preparing 141 master plans across Punjab, of which around 46 have already been prepared and notified. Master plans for Bathinda, Talwandi Sabo, Rama Mandi, Muktsar, Mansa, Kotkapura and Abohar have already been prepared.“The use of these drones is solely and exclusively for the purpose of preparing the existing land-use plan. No plan for land acquisition is being formulated by the department through this drone survey,” Kumar said.He clarified that the survey was only to collect data on existing land use and had nothing to do with land acquisition or establishing any industry.After the data is collected, it will be published and objections and suggestions will be invited from the public before the master plan is finalised, the Senior Town Planner added.