Deccan Herald 15.10.2013
KIADB, BDA wary of online system to acquire land
State government agencies such as the Karnataka
Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB) and the Bangalore
Development Authority (BDA), which courted controversy in the past while
acquiring public land, are reluctant to adopt the online land
acquisition system that not only prevents fraud but also ensures a
speedy process.
After the Revenue department
successfully implemented the online system across the State as a pilot
project early this year, the government directed all its departments —
especially those which acquire public land for development works — to
follow suit and do away with the manual system.
Besides KIADB
and BDA, the Karnataka Road Development Corporation Limited, Krishna
Bhagya Jala Nigama Limited and Cauvery Neeravari Nigama, which acquire
vast tracts of private lands for development projects, have been shying
away from adopting the online system to acquire land. Their respective
land acquisition officers are said to be strongly opposing the new
system, sources said.
The agencies have chosen not to respond to
the repeated reminders sent by the Revenue department in this regard,
according to official sources. Under the online system, land is acquired
using a new software, ‘Bhoo Swadheena,’ developed by integrating the
acquisition process, being followed in the revenue department, with the
‘Bhoomi’ (a computerised land records system).
processes get recorded automatically in the Record of Rights, Tenancy
and Crops (RTC).
Under the manual system, it takes several
months, even many years sometimes, to update the RTC after the
preliminary notification or final notification is issued. This creates
confusion and gives room for illegal sale of the notified land.
Of
late, government agencies have acquired the same piece of land twice,
due to the faulty acquisition process. If the online system is
implemented in all departments, litigations related to land acquisition
would come down substantially, officials contend.
Although the
agencies in question follow their own rules for acquiring land, the
software has been designed such that any department can adopt it. All
they need to do is to make necessary changes as per their own
requirements.
When contacted, BDA Commissioner T Sham Bhat said
the authority would adopt the new system soon. Discussions were being
held with the Directorate of Survey Settlement and Land Records, which
has developed the online system, to modify the software to BDA’s
requirement, he added.
