BBMP to geotag 21 lakh properties before e-khata rollout

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has said that it has digitised about 21 lakh property records in the city so far in order to implement the faceless, contact less and online digital e-khata issuance system.

“All the existing BBMP 21-lakh khatas have been digitized and roll-out will start soon,” the civic agency said in a statement.

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In the coming days, BBMP staff will be visiting homes to capture the Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinates of properties which is mandatory to secure the BBMP e-khata. It will be the unique identity for each property.

“At present, our staff are going house to house to capture GPS of each property. They carry a mobile app in which all properties of a ward are listed,” the latest BBMP statement said. It added that in a few days the agency will launch a citizen module wherein residents can themselves upload GPS coordinates of their properties.

The e-khata facility will be rolled out later, for which procedures and details will be shared seperately.

According to BBMP, the objective behind assigning GPS coordinates to each property is to prevent misappropriation. Once the GPS coordinates are captured, the same land cannot be claimed by others.

While muti-storey flats will have same or close to same GPS, BBMP records about flat number and other details will uniquely identify the property, the agency said.

Tushar Giri Nath, Chief Commissioner of the BBMP, has urged Bengaluru residents to cooperate with civic staff during property visits.

As per government estimates, Bengaluru has over 2.1 million properties, records of which are maintained manually in more than 5,500 ledgers. Post the digitisation drive that began in 2023, nearly 21 lakh property records have been digitized by the BBMP.

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According to state government officials, the overall exercise is aimed at reducing red tapism during issuance of khatas, and simultaneously increase property tax revenue. It is expected to enhance transparency as property owners will not be required to meet revenue officials to secure their e-khatas.

What is a khata certificate?

A khata certificate is the legal document that validates the ownership details of a property in Bengaluru. Issued by the BBMP, this certificate includes vital information regarding the property's size, area, location, and so on (residential as well as commercial).

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Typically, an individual who wants to buy a property seeks the khata details twice. First to verify the ownership before buying and then to ensure that their ownership has been updated in the records.