28-07-2025
Revenue Department mandates digital delivery
Bengaluru: In a major shift towards digital governance, the Revenue Department of Karnataka has officially discontinued the issuance of handwritten land records. Going forward, all land documents under categories 'A' and 'B' will be provided only in digital format.
The initiative, taken under the 'Digital Land Record Distribution' scheme, is currently operational across all 240 Tahsildar offices in the state. Plans are underway to expand this to 700 Atalji Janasnehi Kendras (Nadakacheris) to ensure wider access and efficiency.
If the requested land document is already digitally scanned and verified, applicants will receive it within a single day. If not, the scanning and delivery process will be completed within seven working days, eliminating previous delays and ensuring faster public access.
To safeguard citizens' land records, the department has launched the 'Bhoo Suraksha' (Land Security) project. Of the 31 districts where the scheme is being piloted, 17 taluks have completed the scanning process, while the remaining 209 taluks are in various stages of progress.
The department is also actively scanning Category 'A' records, which must be preserved permanently, and Category 'B' records, which require preservation for 30 years. Officials estimate the total number of pages to be digitized exceeds 100 crore (1 billion), with 32 crore pages scanned so far. The move to enforce digital-only record distribution is aimed at accelerating the digitization of the remaining 68 crore pages.
Previously, the department followed a cataloguing and indexing system, where physical files were manually traced based on area and record room data. However, this was time-consuming and inefficient. Now, all catalogued records are being scanned and uploaded, allowing for instant identification and the digitization of land records at Tahsildar offices is complete, the state will have achieved full digital preservation of land grant documents. These scanned records are being integrated with the 'Darkhastu Podi' (application bundle) system, streamlining the process for citizens to access and apply for land-related documents.
Officials emphasize that this transformation will eliminate delays, increase transparency, and significantly enhance the efficiency of Karnataka's land administration system.
