Bhoomi Empowers Rural Karnataka

Forty-year-old Gangu Muthaiyya, a landless laborer and member of a

marginalized community, lives some 25 km from Bangalore in a small village

called Ganapatti Hadli. Eight years ago he was allotted 1.27 acres of land by

the Government of Karnataka for which he paid a bribe of Rs 650 to the Village

Accountant (VA or the village revenue official). But even after that his name

was not entered into the land record system. Some three months back, Muthaiyya

came to a Bhoomi center and applied for a mutation over the counter. Surprised

because he didnt expect it, within a month Gangu got the mutation order. When

he came to consult a doctor in the city he dropped by at the Bhoomi counter

where, in only five minutes and at a cost of Rs 15, he received the corrected

copy of the Record of Right Tenancy and Cultivation (RTC). He was very happy

when he saw his name registered as the legal owner on the RTC.

The other side of the story: Khamitkar is a VA in Gangen Hallie in rural

Karnataka. He joined in 1972, and has acted as a VA for almost 28 years.

Recently, the computerized RTC started to be issued from his taluka office.

Though he did not have any knowledge of computers, he felt that the new system

was good. Yet, he claims that his workload has increased. He also says that

villagers do not pay land revenues to him as they now pay it directly to the

center to get the RTC. Earlier he used to settle the land revenues before

issuing RTC. He is also upset because earlier, whenever he visited the

villagers, they would carry his bag on their heads and invite him for lunch or

dinner. Now, since the introduction of Bhoomi, they dont even notice his

presence in their village. The times are changing. Things will now change, he

says.

Times indeed have changed, especially across the Karnataka hinterland, thanks

to Bhoomi, the e-Governance project that has effected a revolutionary change in

the states rural land governance system. The numbers associated with Bhoomi are

impressive. Conceived in 1999 and formally launched in February 2001, the

project involved digitization of 20 mn land records belonging to 6.7 mn farmers.

It involved setting up of kiosks across 203 locations in 177 talukas leading to

meticulous digitization of 20 mn manual records. Since each record had 45

fields, 70 mn fields had to be looked at. Further, 10,000 village accountants

and 2,000 officials put in 20,000 man months to complete this project.

Bhoomi has been termed as the most successful experiment, where 20 mn land

records belonging to 6.7 mn farmers were digitized. Six years down the line, the

project is still being considered as the only one, since no other state has been

able to implement it systematically.

Little wonder then that Bhoomi is considered as one of the most successful

e-Governance projects, which has effected a revolutionary change in the rural

land governance system.

Historically Speaking



Prior to Bhoomi, the Government of Karnataka had launched a scheme of

computerization of land records in 1991. The Gulbarga district was the pilot

chosen from among 24 districts, and by 1996 the project was extended to cover

all districts of the state. Though funds were sanctioned for digitizing the land

records data, there was not enough clarity about their validation and subsequent

updations. Due to varying reasons, ranging from apathy to bureaucracy, the

project failed in its objective.

Bhoomi was born out of this failure. In 1999, a new project was

envisageddigitizing of 20 mn odd land records belonging to 6.7 mn landowners in

177 talukas of Karnataka. But implementing this project in 177 locations was a

daunting challenge due to the poor quality of the manually maintained records,

and the task of entering this enormous data. Thats when the National

Informatics Center designed the Bhoomi Software.

The project was implemented at the cost of Rs 20 crore, jointly by the

Government of India and the Karnataka state government, and officially launched

on February 2001.

Success didnt Come Easy



The road to success is often littered with obstacles, and that was very true

for project Bhoomi. The biggest challenge to the project, according to Rajeev

Chawla (then secretary, e-Governance, and commissioner of the survey, settlement

and land records department, Government of Karnataka) who spearheaded the

project, When the project was at its inception, village officials were cynical.

They thought it was an impossibility. However, we had the confidence that we

would be able to deliver the goods, allaying a very pessimistic atmosphere.

But the success of the project was so huge that Bhoomi is now declared as the

national model of replication in all states by the Ministry of IT, Government of

India, and an additional fund of Rs 300 mn is being provided for the same. The

number of transactions under Bhoomi have increased manifold, and currently about

14 mn land records are distributed and 1.6 mn mutations are done through the

Bhoomi system every year.

Winning Features



The features that make Bhoomi unique among the many e-Governance projects

are plenty. Foremost is the way it has touched millions of farmers in rural

Karnataka. With Bhoomi, farmers can get their records in less than 2 minutes, as

against 3-30 days in the old system. They are also protected from harassment and

extortion. The system is secure and uses a latest biometric authentication

system for updating records. The time taken for mutation has been curtailed from

some 200 days to 35.

The system also encourages transparency. Farmers have access to official

status reports on mutation requests, which enable them to know at which stage

their request is. They can then question the authorities on pending requestsat

the same time ensuring that the mutation is done within the prescribed time.

There is also a commercial angle to the project. Since the kiosks are

connected online to various banks, farmers can get their farm credit within 5

days as against a month taken in the previous arrangement, hence banks can

easily plan for farm credit related activities. The project has also decreased

litigation and settlement time; due to secure digitized copies, courts are able

to settle various land disputes in a quicker and just manner.

All in all, Bhoomi stands out for the sheer number of lives it has touched.

Some 20 mn land records have been digitized from 203 project locations in some

27,000 villages. As stated earlier, 6.7 mn farmers have been benefited, like

Muthaiyya from the village Ganapatti Hadli. These farmers have been empowered

and touched by the wonders of technology. Village accountants like Khamitkar can

only rue and reminisce about the good old days, when corruption and red-tape

ruled supreme and the villagers bowed and cowered in front of them. But for

Bhoomi, someone like Khamitkar would still be having lunch at a villagers abode

and fleecing him. Bhoomi has not only digitized land records, it has given power

to the masses.

H Chethana Gadiyar



chethanag@cybermedia.co.in