Rural Development & Panchayat Raj minister Priyank Kharge.
Credit: DH Photo
Bengaluru: The Karnataka government will start issuing ‘B’ khatas to unauthorised rural properties from July, Rural Development & Panchayat Raj minister Priyank Kharge said on Thursday.
Priyank was addressing a news conference to sum up the achievements of his department with the Congress government having completed two years.
Unlike ‘A’ khatas given to legal properties, ‘B’ khatas are meant for unauthorised assets and allow the government to levy taxes. The ‘B’ khatas will also allow owners to sell their properties.
“There was a huge demand for some relief to be provided to unauthorised layouts in rural areas. We have amended the law. By mid-July, we will start issuing [‘B’ khatas]. Guidelines have been framed,” Priyank said.
This will bring 95 lakh properties under e-Swathu, the minister pointed out. “In the last two years, property forms to 50.05 lakh have been distributed,” he said.
Priyank said his department had digitised 1.49 crore rural properties under Panchatantra 2.0. “Monthly monitoring is helping with tax collection,” he said, adding that gram panchayats in the state collected a record ₹1,273.34 crore in 2024-25.
“Karnataka is ranked first in panchayat decentralisation as per a report prepared by the union government,” Priyank said.
Under the Jal Jeevan Mission, the state government has provided funds to the tune of Rs 22,624 crore. As many as 85..96 lakh households have received piped water supply since May 2023, Priyank said.
Since 2023, Priyank said his department has rolled out several new programmes: Koosina Mane (rural creches), Arivu Kendra (upgrading rural libraries), Rajiv Gandhi Panchayat Raj Fellowship, Pragati Patha and Kalyana Patha (rural road development).
'India's only WhatsApp chatbot in panchayat raj'
The government's WhatsApp chatbot Panchamitra (8277506000) has 2.21 lakh active users and the number is rising, Priyank said.
"This is India's only WhatsApp chatbot being used in the panchayat raj system," he said. "Citizens can avail any type of information on WhatsApp like panchayat meetings and their proceedings. Citizens can also lodge complaints, which will directly reach the government," he added.
"We weren't sure how this would work. It's helping us with valuable feedback from the ground." The WhatsApp chatbot is working given that mobile internet penetration in rural areas is 98% and smartphone penetration is 80%, he said.