Udupi: In a major push towards transparency and efficiency, Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda announced that the Karnataka government is fast-tracking the digitisation of historical revenue records and significantly reducing long-pending cases across taluk and assistant commissioner courts.
Speaking at a press conference at the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Auditorium, DC Office, Manipal, the minister said that 34.29 crore pages out of a targeted 100 crore have already been scanned since January. “Our goal is to finish the entire digitisation process by December, ensuring that citizens can access land and revenue documents at their fingertips,” he said.
The initiative aims to prevent document loss and forgery, while reducing citizens’ dependency on manual processes. Since July, it has been mandatory for citizens to apply for services online—through Nada Kacheris, DC offices, or from home.
On disaster preparedness, Byre Gowda stressed vigilance from gram panchayat-level task forces amid continued rainfall. He also directed the deputy commissioner and Zilla Panchayat CEO to ensure active monitoring.
In tackling revenue case backlogs, he said, “When I took office, there were 10,774 cases pending in Tehsildar courts—mostly affecting farmers. That number is now down to 457.” AC courts, he added, had a backlog of 62,857 cases, which has been reduced to 18,631, with over 44,000 cases resolved in two years.
The minister highlighted the success of the ‘Nanna Bhoomi Darkasthu Podi Abhiyana’, which led to 1.11 lakh land surveys (podi) in just seven months, a dramatic rise from just 5,801 done three years ago. “Door-to-door surveys are now conducted proactively,” he said.
Further, district-wide land registration has been introduced, allowing property to be registered at any sub-registrar office within the district, cutting down wait times via time-slot booking. He clarified there are no current plans for new sub-registrar offices.
On the contentious deemed forest issue, a joint circular by the revenue and forest departments now mandates joint surveys for better coordination when revenue land overlaps with forest areas.
Deputy Commissioner Swaroopa T K, ZP CEO Pratheek Bayal, and senior officials were also present.