A hall full of 5.50 lakh government employees, a Chief Minister invoking the ghosts of Sir M. Visvesvaraya and Kengal Hanumanthaiah, and a blunt new promise: property documents delivered to your doorstep without a single rupee in bribes. Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar used a video interaction session with state employees at the Vidhana Soudha Banquet Hall on Tuesday, August 11 to announce the government's sixth guarantee and lay down a firm administrative code of conduct.

The Sixth Guarantee: Free e-Khata and Property Records at the Door

The centrepiece of the address was the declaration of a new welfare commitment. 25 lakh e-khata records in Bengaluru and patta (title deed) documents for rural residents have already been distributed free of charge, the Chief Minister said. Calling it the government's sixth guarantee, Shivakumar pledged that property documents will reach citizens' homes without any bribery — a direct strike at the rent-seeking that has historically plagued Karnataka's land registration offices. The scheme is set to expand statewide within the next 6-7 months, he said, with digitisation of land records deployed specifically to stop tampering.

Zero Tolerance on Corruption — and a Warning on Fake Bills

'I will not compromise on corruption under any circumstances,' Shivakumar told the assembled officers. He named specific malpractices — fake billing and double billing — as practices he will not tolerate. Officers were directed to work strictly within the legal framework, follow their conscience, and resist pressure from any quarter. The digitisation drive, he explained, is designed to make record falsification structurally impossible, not merely punishable.

Taluk Officers Must Live at Their Posts — and Ministers Must Visit

Shivakumar announced a clear administrative discipline mandate: every taluk-level officer must reside at their assigned headquarters. Through the 'Prajaaseve' (People's Service) department, district ministers and legislators are required to visit taluk headquarters on the 1st and 3rd Saturday of every month to resolve public grievances on the spot. The initiative is to be extended subsequently to panchayat and hobli levels. 'Sharing and caring' — resolve local problems locally, do not transfer them upward — was the directive.

History as Instruction: From Visvesvaraya to Vajpayee

The speech was dense with historical framing. Shivakumar recalled that Kengal Hanumanthaiah built the Vidhana Soudha using prison labour, and that Sir M. Visvesvaraya worked for a token salary of ₹1 — held up as the gold standard of public service selflessness. He quoted Dr. B.R. Ambedkar: 'He who forgets history cannot create history.' And he cited Atal Bihari Vajpayee's observation that world leaders who once flew into Delhi first now land in Bengaluru first — a marker of the city's and state's global ascent.

'Criticisms die. Our work remains,' he told officers. 'What legacy we leave while in power is what matters.'

Guarantee Schemes and a Jab at the Centre

Shivakumar defended Karnataka's five-scheme guarantee model — introduced in the Congress party's 2023 election manifesto — calling it a national template. He claimed that even the Prime Minister, who initially criticised the model, later adopted its approach. Steps are being taken to ensure the schemes reach only Karnataka residents and are not misused. He also praised a government employees' association that voluntarily opted out of the guarantee schemes, calling it a gesture of civic responsibility. The Bharat Jodo Yuva Sangha was described as a revolutionary platform to energise youth and channel their talent into public service.

Senior officials present included Deputy Chief Minister Dr. G. Parameshwara, ministers Priyank Kharge, Laxman Savadi, Santosh Lad, Vijayanand Kashappanavar and Ajay Singh, Chief Secretary Shalini Rajaneesh, Additional Chief Secretary Tushar Girinath, and Additional Chief Secretary (Development) Uma Mahadevan.

The Chief Minister closed with a personal commitment: after the ongoing assembly session concludes, he will personally visit every taluk in the state. The paperwork will follow him there.