In a significant leap towards digital governance, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has successfully processed a staggering 99% of the nearly 9 lakh applications received under its ambitious e-Khata drive. This massive digitization effort, aimed at converting physical property records into an online format, has streamlined a crucial civic process for millions of city residents.
The Scale of the E-Khata Initiative
The BBMP launched the e-Khata initiative to modernize and bring transparency to the city's property record management system. The response from citizens was overwhelming, with the civic body receiving close to 9 lakh (900,000) applications for the conversion of B-register (manual) extracts to the digital e-Khata format. According to official data, an impressive 8.91 lakh of these applications have already been processed, leaving only a minuscule fraction pending. This high processing rate underscores the administration's focused drive to clear the backlog and provide efficient citizen services.
Operational Hubs and Citizen Facilitation
To manage this enormous task, the BBMP established eight dedicated citizen service centers strategically across the city's zones. These centers became the nodal points for receiving and processing applications, ensuring that property owners from all corners of Bengaluru had accessible points of contact. The process involves the crucial step of property mutation, where the digital record is updated to reflect the current owner's name, thereby creating a clear and legal digital title. The success of this drive means that a vast majority of applicants now have their property records available in a secure, easily accessible online format, reducing dependency on physical documents and minimizing the risk of fraud or loss.
Implications for Bengaluru's Property Landscape
The near-completion of this e-Khata drive marks a transformative moment for property governance in India's tech capital. For citizens, it translates to greater convenience, enhanced transparency, and reduced red tape in property transactions and legal matters. A digitized khata simplifies processes like obtaining trade licenses, building plan approvals, and paying property tax. For the BBMP, a comprehensive digital database allows for better urban planning, more accurate tax assessment, and improved civic management. While the drive has been largely successful, the focus now shifts to addressing the remaining applications and ensuring the system's long-term sustainability and ease of use for all stakeholders.
The BBMP's e-Khata project stands as a benchmark for other municipal corporations in India, demonstrating how targeted digital interventions can significantly improve public service delivery and foster trust in urban governance.
