Documents of properties in Bengaluru to be digitised, given definite identities: Karnataka Dy CM D K Shivakumar

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Saturday said all documents of properties in Bengaluru will be digitised and they will be given definite identities that no one can tamper with.

Shivakumar, who holds the Bengaluru Development portfolio, also said that tax defaulters in the city will be reined in.

Properties in the city will be documented and their details will be digitised in the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike and Bangalore Development Authority records, he told reporters after a meeting with residents’ welfare associations (RWAs) in the city.

“I will get the property documents scanned. The documents provided to the government should never be tampered with. Just as Bhoomi project of digitising land records was started during S M Krishna’s tenure as chief minister, land records in urban areas must also be digitised,” Shivakumar explained.

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Stating that he was not thinking of increasing property tax, the Shivakumar said he would focus on property tax defaulters.

“I am not thinking of imposing exorbitant tax, but of those who are not paying taxes. We will use technology to rein in them,” Shivakumar said.

“Some people are defaulting on property tax. We will concentrate on such properties. I have already had one round of meetings with officers. We will bring such people within the framework of the law,” he added.

Speaking about his discussion with the RWAs, he said he would prepare a plan of action to sort out the city's woes in a time-bound fashion.

Shivakumar said most of the RWAs pointed out that municipal corporation elections have not taken place. People are demanding dignity and their rights as given to them under the 74th amendment of the Indian Constitution, which refers to decentralisation of powers to municipal bodies. Also, they are rightfully demanding transparency, he added.

Among suggestions that the RWAs made were provisioning for groundwater recharging, solving drinking water supply problems, ending power fluctuation and protecting public properties, the Shivakumar said.