One can soon get copies of cadastral maps - that define land ownership - from 20 centres across the state.

The revenue and land reforms department will set up these centres by this month. A cadastral map contains details of plots in a given circle and also of revenue villages - useful for those looking for a map of the plot they own.

Most cadastral maps available in Bihar now are from the colonial era. Right now, the government printing press in old Patna's Gulzarbagh locality is the only press equipped with digitised copies of all cadastral maps of Bihar. For a fee of Rs 150, one can get a hard copy of the required map, printed using a plotter.

Normally, it takes two-three days to procure such a map, making it tough for those who live in far-flung districts.

"Keeping people's problems in mind, we decided to decentralise the facility so that people could procure maps from a place nearer to them," said Vivek Kumar Singh, principal secretary, revenue and land reforms. "We are setting up 20 such centres from where people can avail this facility. The facility would come up this month itself."

The places where cadastral map centres are being set up are: Patna, Nalanda, Begusarai, Khagaria, Lakhisarai, Saharsa, Supaul, Madhepura, Udakishunganj (Madhepura), Gaya, Muzaffarpur, West Champaran, Saran, Bhagalpur, Munger, Purnea, Araria, Katihar, Kishanganj and Darbhanga.

The map centres would function from the Sadar circle office. In case of Madhepura, an additional office would function from the Udakishunganj circle office. All these centres have been provided a soft copy of the cadastral maps of the given district.

Principal secretary Singh said the department intended to set up cadastral map procurement centres in other places outside the state with a sizeable Bihari population.

"Our family has property in rural areas," said Satendra Sharma, a resident of Bettiah in West Champaran district. "But locating these properties becomes a problem without cadastral maps. I can now identify land belonging to us on which others are doing cultivation work by taking advantage of the confusion regarding exact location of our plot."