Bengaluru One Centres to Process E-Khata Applications as City Moves to Fully Digital System

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar announced the launch of the E-Khata initiative on Saturday, ushering in a fully digital, faceless system for property record management in Bengaluru aimed at eliminating corruption, middlemen, and bureaucratic delays. Residents can now apply for E-Khata certificates—official documents verifying property ownership and tax status—through the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike’s (BBMP) E-Aasthi portal or at any Bengaluru One centre, without needing to visit municipal offices.

Describing it as the start of an “E-Khata revolution”, Shivakumar emphasised transparency and efficiency, stating on X that over 25 lakh property records have already been migrated to the platform, enabling instant access to ownership details, mutation status, and tax information. Every online application will be auto-routed to an approval dashboard for time-bound processing, marking a significant shift toward citizen-centric governance in India’s tech capital.

The move addresses long-standing grievances in Bengaluru’s property ecosystem, where manual processes often led to harassment, prolonged waits, and bribe demands. By digitising the entire Khata issuance and transfer workflow, the government seeks to curb malpractices while enhancing accountability. The E-Aasthi portal integrates Aadhaar-linked verification to minimise disputes over titles, streamline bank loan approvals, and improve the marketability of properties. This overhaul aligns with broader smart city objectives, leveraging Bengaluru’s status as a global IT hub to deploy technology in civic administration. Officials noted that the system ensures seamless tracking of applications, reducing human intervention and fostering a corruption-free environment for one of the country’s most dynamic real estate markets.

In a parallel development, the state government introduced a simplified pathway to regularise B-Khata properties—typically revenue sites lacking full legal sanction—into A-Khata status, the gold standard for municipal recognition. Applicable only to individual plots up to 2,000 square metres (and excluding apartments), the scheme offers an end-to-end online process for both newly eligible and previously converted sites. Property owners can now upgrade their records with minimal physical paperwork, boosting valuations and easing transactions. This fast-track regularisation is expected to benefit thousands of homeowners in peripheral areas where B-Khata holdings proliferated due to rapid urbanisation and lax enforcement in the past.

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Combined, these reforms represent a comprehensive push toward modernising Bengaluru’s land records framework, potentially setting a template for other Indian cities grappling with similar challenges. As property disputes account for a significant portion of civil litigation nationwide, the E-Khata system’s emphasis on automation and real-time data could reduce legal backlogs and enhance investor confidence. With the BBMP overseeing nearly 35 lakh properties, the successful rollout will hinge on robust cybersecurity, user education, and sustained infrastructure support at Bengaluru One centres. For now, the initiative signals a decisive step toward transparent, tech-driven urban governance in a city synonymous with innovation.

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