Bhu Suraksha: Scanning of 40 crore pages by February, says Krishna Byre Gowda

Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda on Saturday directed officials to make sure that the ambitious Bhu Suraksha programme of digitising land records is completed by the end of February next year.

“We’re digitising all original and source documents under the Bhu Suraksha programme. So far, 53 crore pages have been scanned. Another 40 crore pages remain,” Gowda said. 

“Daily, 17.5 lakh pages are being scanned. At this rate, I’ve directed deputy commissioners that the entire work should be completed by February-end,” the minister said, adding that the government had provided necessary computers, scanners, data-entry operators and funds. 

Under Bhu Suraksha, Gowda said the government does not want original documents to get lost.

“Also, over time, documents get damaged. Plus, in some places, citizens seeking documents face problems with officials making it a habit to say that the required papers aren’t available,” he said. “All the scanned documents have been made available online. People can go to the Bhu Suraksha web portal and obtain a certified copy without having to visit our offices,” Gowda said. 

The Bhu Suraksha programme started with taluk offices. It has not expanded to the offices of assistant commissioners (AC) and deputy commissioners (DC). “By March next year, (scanning) work will be completed in the AC and DC offices,” Gowda said. 

Scanning of documents

The work of scanning documents will also start in the registration department, the minister said. “All property registration records prior to 2004 will be scanned,” he said. “We’re also bringing land acquisition records under Bhu Suraksha,” he added. 

Gowda, who reflected on two-and-a-half years as revenue minister, said he has tried to identify and solve problems. “There’s contentment about the work done so far. There’s a lot that needs to be done. We’re aware of the challenges,” he said. 

The minister is especially proud of the work done so far on Phodi (delineation of boundaries). “Between 2018 and 2023, phodi was done in 8,500 cases. After I took office, in just one year, 1.49 lakh plots were taken up for phodi work,” he said. 

Gowda is also pushing for progress in pauti khata (transfer of ownership from a dead person to a legal heir). A mission was taken up to transfer the ownership of 40 lakh plots from dead persons to their legal heirs. “Due to family disputes, we’ve done only 3.2 lakh pauti khatas,” he said.