MYSORE: The Government has decided to extend the `Bhoomi' project to all the 800 hoblis in the State. The scope of the project, which now issues land records, will be expanded, and certificates pertaining to income, caste, births and deaths and widow pension will also be made available through the kiosks.

Revenue Minister Jagadish Shettar told presspersons here on Tuesday that the project would be extended to the hobli level within six months.

"This will obviate the need for farmers to visit the district and taluk headquarters to obtain records and certificates. There was a demand from rural people that `Bhoomi' be extended to the hobli level to minimise the expenditure. I was convinced of the rationale behind the demand and placed the proposal before the Government, and it has given its sanction," Mr. Shettar said.

`Bhoomi' is an e-governance project launched with funding from the Centre. Over 20 million land records of more than 6.7 million landowners in the State have been computerised. Farmers can now easily get the Record of Rights, Tenancy and Crop Inspection (RTC) and other landholding documents. The land records are constantly updated and include features such as type of soil, landholding size, ownership and mutation or change in land title.

The `Bhoomi' project is expected to clearly demarcate land owned by individuals and revenue land that belongs to the Government. Encroachment of revenue land can be easily identified. The existence of authentic records will help expedite cases pertaining to land disputes.

Mr. Shettar said City Survey Records were antiquated and he had directed officials to conduct a survey and computerise them.

He said the Government was aware of the increase in the market value of land in rural areas as a result of which it was becoming difficult to acquire additional land from landowners for crematoriums and burial grounds. The government rates would be increased suitably to overcome the problem.

Family welfare scheme

Mr. Shettar said more than 20,000 applications from those who qualified for compensation under the National Family Welfare Scheme were pending as the Government had not released matching grants for the past three years. The Government had now released Rs. 5 crore for the purpose and the Centre had released Rs. 15 crore and the process would be completed within six months, he added.

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