Bhu Suraksha project launched to digitise land records

Minister for Revenue Krishna Byre Gowda on Monday launched the Bhu Suraksha Project to expand the digitisation of land records to the offices of Assistant Commissioners (ACs) and Deputy Commissioners (DCs).

Speaking at the inauguration of the project here, Mr. Gowda said that Karnataka’s land records were being fully digitised to curb malpractice and improve transparency.

He recalled that in January last year, the original land records in all taluk offices had been scanned and digitised. “From today, the scanning of records available in AC and DC offices has also begun,” he said.

Mr. Gowda described digitisation as a crucial measure to prevent fake entries and the creation of forged documents in land records. The Revenue Department, he added, is scanning all original records and preserving them permanently as part of a sustained, State-wide campaign that began last January.

Providing an update on progress, the Minister said that the computerisation work had been fully completed in 70 of the State’s 240 taluks. Karnataka has an estimated 100 crore pages of land records, of which around 62 crore pages have already been scanned. “All the remaining pages will be completely scanned in the next three to four months,” he said.

While the scanning of original records in taluk offices is progressing steadily, Mr. Gowda noted that work under the Bhu Suraksha project to digitise records in AC and DC offices had begun last month. “By symbolically launching the scanning process in AC offices today, we have effectively given a State-wide launch to the computerisation of revenue records in AC and DC offices,” he added.

Referring to past instances of forged land documents, the Minister said such cases were being treated with seriousness. “Each suspicious case will be examined thoroughly. Wherever required, documents will be sent to forensic laboratories to verify their authenticity, and appropriate action will follow,” he said.