first published week of: 04/08/2013
Internet giant Google could land in serious trouble over its ‘Mapathon 2013’ as the Delhi Police have launched an inquiry into the mapping contest held in February-March this year following a formal complaint by the Survey of India.
“Mapathon 2013 activity is likely to jeopardize national security interest and violates the National Map Policy. Citizens of the country, who are ignorant of the legal consequences, are likely to violate the law of the land,” the Survey of India wrote in its complaint filed at the RK Puram police station on March 25, 2013.
“We have received a complaint from the Survey of India…an inquiry has been initiated,” a senior Delhi Police official said. Google had launched the Mapathon contest between February 12 and March 25, asking Indians to map their neighborhoods and send their maps so that they can be uploaded in the search engine’s sites. Google had also said it would reward the top 1,000 participants.
In a letter to Google’s India office on March 21, Additional Surveyor-General of India R.C. Padhi asked the U.S.-based Internet company to stop the activity which was against “India’s policy guidelines.” “Survey of India is only [sic] mandated to undertake ‘Restricted’ category surveying and mapping and no other government/private organizations or any individual are authorized to do so,” he wrote.
As per the National Map Policy, 2005, “The responsibility for producing, maintaining and disseminating the topographic map database of the whole country, which is the foundation of all spatial data vests with the Survey of India.”