Success story of BHOOMI – First large e-Gov project in India

1. Success story of BHOOMI – First large e-Gov project in India Samartharam N R samarth.nr@nic.in

2. BHOOMI Pioneer in LRs administration • 13 year old • Covers entire state • 16.4 million RORs • 24 million farmers • Large User base • Departmental users – 16,000 • Transaction Volume • Mutations – 1.4 crore • RC distribution – 16.78 crore • User charges collected – 226 crore • No of LAQ notification - 1328 • Moving towards Land Admin Tool

3. Broad user base • VAs - 13,000 • RIs - 800 • Office staff - 400 • Tahasildar/ACs - 300 • SROs - 240 • SLAOs - 75 • Bankers - 4580

4. Land records : Then & Now Post-BHOOMI Pre-BHOOMI Manual records Computerised Low visibility Transparency Cumbersome Easy access Dated records Up to date Harassment Citizen friendly Secured Tamper Prone

5. The path traversed-amazing numbers • Data entry • 10000 plus officials underwent training on data preparation and validation process • Implementation at 27 locations simultaneously • 20,000 man-months legacy data entry involving 1200 operators • Validated 1.64 crore records through 67 lakhs farmers and 9000 Village officials • Bhoomi software & Training • Requirement specification through 16 workshops-participatory development • 200 man-months development effort • Development in local language • 700 + village officials trained • Continuous training on for over a year

6. The transition in documentation

7. Multiple stakeholders benefit • Quick, harassment free • Records tamper proof • Simple mutation process • Easier farm credit • Less litigation Citizen Bhoomi Other Stakeholders Government • Protect govt. land • Citizen friendly • Banks • Judiciary • Private firms • Easy implementation • Manpower redeployment • Planning inputs Administration

8. Protection from harassment and extortion

9. Evaluation Report Card on Bhoomi • Ease of Use: • 78% of users who had used both systems found Bhoomi simpler; • 66% used Bhoomi without help vs. 28% in manual • Complexity of Procedures: • 80% did not have to meet any one other than at kiosk: • In manual 19% met one officer and 61% met 2-4 officials • Errors in documents: Bhoomi 8% vs manual 64% • Rectification of errors: sought correction 93 % vs 49%, timely response 50% vs 4% • Cost of service: 84% one visit to Bhoomi center • Corruption: 66% paid bribes very often vs 3% in Bhoomi • Staff behavior: Bhoomi Good (84%) vs manual Average (63%) Source :Public Affairs Centre,Bangalore

10. Evaluation Report Card on Bhoomi Average time required for obtaining copies of RTC before and after the BHOOMI Cost of obtaining the copy of RTC before and after BHOOMI with the break-up of the components of the cost

11. Evaluation Report Card on Bhoomi Average time for carrying out mutation in RTCs before and after BHOOMI Average Cost of single transaction of mutation before and after BHOOMI with the break-up of the components of the cost

12. What Bhoomi has achieved • Handwritten records fully substituted by computerised records- a legal framework in place • Imposition of user charges with better delivery of services make scheme viable and sustainable • Land records in public domain • No application, no identity requirements • Mutation requests acknowledged & tracked • Mutation requests increased three fold • Reduction in land based litigation in Revenue courts • Biometrics authentication- Non repudiation feature • PKI enabled BHOOMI to adhere to IT act 2000

13. Challenges • Information overload • Managing Human Resources • The Roll Out • Outsourcing the Back Log • Picking the right people • Doing the Ground Work • Making Sure things Work

14. Challenges • Lack of Realistic needs analysis • Unwillingness to redefine rules, and procedures • Misconception about Information transparency • Lack of Inter / Intra departmental collaboration for horizontal & vertical information sharing • Security Threats & Legal Issues • Tendency to resist the change in work culture • Problem of sustainability of change

15. Implementation process • Series of workshops for involvement of officials and for the viewpoints involving all level of officials at • Divisional • District and • State level • Workshops chaired by CS for all DCs • Committing of timelines through budget declarations • Demonstration of political support • Regular review by CM • Letter to DCs by CM • Making CM to talk to laggard DCs • Visits by officers and ministers of other state led to increasing internal support

16. Implementation process • Pilot in 5 taluks followed by 27 talukas @ 1 taluka in each district • All essential features implemented in pilot including • User charges • Stopping of manual system • Make midterm corrections like • Handling corrections to data • Modification to data entry SW • Preparation of land records manual data for data entry • Publicity of the project to the citizens • Training to the stakeholders • Handling the bugs in the SW

17. Implementation process • Followed by implementation in all remaining talukas • Smooth implementation except the regular anticipated hurdles • Data errors • Minor Hardware and software glitches • Gradual introduction of changes in system • First phase- land record delivery through kiosks only • Mutation process computerised but no reengineering attempted • Multiple authorities for mutation approval were removed • FIFO in mutation • Mutation kiosks for acceptance of requests

18. Major obstacles • Large size of legacy data digitization • Decentralized implementation • Lack of technical manpower • To maintain the IT infrastructure • For supporting the department for end to end implementation • They were overcome • Data validation through department hierarchy • Farmers themselves • Facility management • Deployment of consultants

19. Success factors • Political will matched by strong administrative machinery to implement the scheme • Comprehensive and user friendly software • Working out minute implementation details • Intensive and well organized training for willing and young village officials • Technical help through • Appointment through consultants • Facility management • Continuation of project champion • Appropriate user charges

20. Challenges in data exchange • e-Governance systems can monitor the activities only after transactions are digitally captured on them. • If two e-Governance systems are in place and they start exchanging data in the form of paper, actual benefit cannot be exploited. • Individuals working will only decide when to enter the transaction giving undesirable discretionary power to the officials .

21. Why electronic integration ? • Remove/reduce human discretion • Automatic initiation of transaction based on electronic data • Removes time lag • Removes/reduces data entry mistakes resulting in rejections • Structured data helps in creation of good MIS and analysis reports

22. Integration with stake holders KAVERI BANK LAQ MODULE SMS INTEGRATION MOJINI

23. BHOOMI-KAVERI integration • Check for the necessity of Pre-Mutation sketch • No sale, pledge/mortgage transactions allowed on Govt. land. • Seller should be the owner in BHOOMI database. • Govt. restrictions like land grant conditions, LRF conditions, PTCL etc. are checked before performing transactions • Court stay and court orders existing on land parcel are also checked before allowing transactions.

24. BHOOMI-KAVERI integration • Facilitates in reflecting registration events on record of rights with minimum time lag. • Mutation transactions initiated automatically. • Facilitates to fill the vacuum of non availability of vital information during registration. • Facilitates transactions only on the balance extents of the owners. • Facilitates for photo and finger print verification

25. BHOOMI-KAVERI integration Conventional Method After electronic integration SRO – KAVERI REGISTRATION SRO KAVERI DATA FETCHING FROM BHOOMI DOCUMENTS + INTIMATION 35 – 40 days 3-4 days REGISTRATION AFTER VALIDATION OF BHOOMI DATA By post BHOOMI ELECTRONICALLY DATA ENTRY CHECKLIST APPROVALNOTICE PRINTING AUTO NOTICE GENERATION MUTATION APPROVAL MUTATION DATA 30 DAYS WAITING PERIOD 30 DAYS NOTICE PERIOD MUTATION ORDER DATA ENTRY SCANNING MUTATION APPROVAL ROR UPDATED ROR UPDATED

26. Data retrieval from BHOOMI in KAVERI

27. Auto initiation of Mutation

28. No. of days to initiate transaction

29. Comparative analysis

30. BHOOMI-BANK integration • To reduce number of visits that farmer makes to bank and taluk office to get farm credit • To automatically initiate mutation transaction in BHOOMI based on requests either to put or remove liabilities • To remove time lag between sanction of loan and disbursement

31. BHOOMI - BANK Integration After Electronic Integration Conventional Method SUBMITS UPDATED ROR TO BANK REQUEST SUBMITS TO TALUK OFFICE CREATION OF CHARGE ON ROR DOCUMENT VERIFICATION + INTIMATION APPLICANT SUBMITSREQUEST TO BANK MUTATION PROCESS CREDIT DISBURSED GET UPDATED ROR FROM TALUK OFFICE BANKER ETCHING FROM BHOOMI 1 – 2 days BANK 30 – 35 days ELECTRONICALLY CREDIT DISBURSED MUTATION APPROVAL Eight visits of farmer reduced to three ROR UPDATED

32. Number of Days taken (BBI)

33. Bank integration: Benefits Banks • Bhoomi data replaces need for NOC • Authenticity of ownership • Eliminates cross lending • Intimation about transaction on pledged land and crops • Reduces time taken for credit disbursal • Ensures reflection of liabilities on ROR Citizens • No need to go to Taluk Office • Number of visits reduced • Quick access to crop loan • Saves cost • High Transparency

34. BHOOMI - BANK

35. WhyBHOOMI-Land Acquisition Integration? • Stops all transaction on the land once notified for acquisition • Lands Acquired once can not be sold or mortgaged • Land Acquisition twice Scenario avoided • Notification on web – enables citizen to be aware of LAQ • Manual notifications barred through Govt order • End to End online LAQ module – workflow based

36. LAQ

37. LAQ Notification & Updationof RTC

38. Acquisition for Railway Project

39. SMS Integration • Intimation to seller and buyer on initiation of mutation process • Intimation to applicant at each level of Transaction SMS

40. Synchronization between textual and Cadastre • Measurement of land before registration • Use of licensed surveyors • Integrated Mutation process • Ensures synchronization between textual and spatial records • And eventually graduating to Torrens system ( State to guarantee land title on the basis of entries in records)

41. The Reach of the Integrated System

42. Things helped in achieving Irreversibility • Amendment to Karnataka Land Revenue Act making electronic data is the only authentic data. • Amendment to Karnataka Land Revenue Act making pre-mutation sketch mandatory for registration. • Circular issued by Principal Secretary to GOK (Revenue) making RoRs mandatory for registration. • Banning Manual process of Land acquisition • Section 9, 10 and 10A of THE KARNATAKA AGRICULTURAL CREDIT OPERATIONS AND MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS ACT, 1974.

43. Lessons on strategies for sustainable computerization in government • Rule one: The driver has to understand the full implications and potential of the initiative • Rule two: Keep things simple at the field level • Rule three: Do things that affect the consumer first • Rule four: Data size is irrelevant • Rule five: While implementing the project, focus on the younger staff at the lowest implementing level in the government • Rule six: Introduce improvements gradually & continuously

44. Testimonials • Union Minister - Letter • GOI-FS - Secretary’s letter • NABARD - Regional officer’s letter

45. MoRD

46. GOI -FS

47. NABARD Appreciation

48. Recognition • Detailed study of Bhoomi by World Bank made available on its website for facilitating replication. (www.worldbank.org/publicsector/egov) • World Bank and Ford foundation have got done an independent evaluation of the BHOOMI project • Apart from winning silver in CAPAM, Bhoomi was one of the finalist in Stockholm challenge award 2002 and Tech Museum innovation award, California • 7th National e-Governance award for BHOOMI • 17th National e-Governance (Gold) for Integration of BHOOMI with Stakeholders (2014)

49. THANK YOU Please send your feedback and suggestions to samarth.nr@nic.in