Govt land encroachment clearance drive next month, says Karnataka minister

An operation to clear the encroachment on government lands will begin in September, Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda has said. 

Speaking to reporters in Ballari on Thursday, Gowda said that out of the 14.32 lakh government properties in the state, 13.4 lakh properties have been surveyed using ‘land beat,’ an app-based system.

“During the preliminary survey, it has been found that 91,000 acres of government land have been encroached upon and an operation to clear encroachments will begin in September,” the minister said.

He said that to begin with, encroachments of burial grounds and lakes will be cleared. 

The digitisation of old revenue documents is underway in 31 taluks on a pilot basis and this will be extended across the state next month, the minister said.

As many as 4.43 crore documents will be scanned and they can be accessed online, Gowda said.