Bengaluru, Feb 9 (NationPress) Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka, D.K. Shivakumar, announced on Monday his plans to meet with senior Congress leaders and various Union ministers to deliberate on developmental initiatives for the state.

“I will be meeting Congress leaders who have invited me to Delhi. In addition to political discussions, I will also engage with officials from the Union Jal Shakti Ministry and legal experts during my visit,” he elaborated.

Shivakumar is set to mark six years as the president of the Karnataka Congress on March 10.

“It is essential for me to connect with our MPs and party leaders. I regularly meet them to express my challenges, concerns, frustrations, as well as your joys and aspirations,” he stated.

With the Chief Minister's approval, Shivakumar is preparing to leave for Delhi.

In related developments, MLA Iqbal Hussain, a supporter of Shivakumar, has urged Siddaramaiah to permit Shivakumar to take the lead in the state. “You speak of equality and socialism; now is the time to embody that ideology,” Hussain remarked.

Senior Congress member H.C. Balakrishna also asserted that changes are inevitable and cannot be thwarted. “When a decision is made, it will be final,” Balakrishna affirmed.

Speaking to the media at Vidhana Soudha after distributing khata certificates to beneficiaries of khata conversion, Shivakumar, who also serves as the Bengaluru Urban Development Minister, indicated that approximately 25 lakh properties across Bengaluru have been digitized to date.

“Around nine lakh e-khatas have been issued to residents. All municipal corporations have been instructed to initiate a special free e-khata campaign,” he added.

Shivakumar emphasized that the digitization of property records is a significant decision of this year, as it has not been prioritized in the last 50 years.

“Previously, the Bhoomi project was launched to digitize agricultural lands. We are now extending this initiative to include all property records in Bengaluru by digitizing documents and implementing the e-khata system. Our goal is to prevent tax evasion. Verification through the Kaveri software at sub-registrar offices has been established, alongside plans to link every document with Aadhaar,” he explained.

He assured that obtaining an e-khata would be possible without any monetary bribes.

“I have directed that khata certificates should be delivered directly to the citizens' doorsteps. This decision has been one of the most fulfilling of my career, as many individuals were unaware of the names on their property registrations,” he noted.

Furthermore, he mentioned that the Central government has sent appreciation letters to our officials in recognition of this work.

“This initiative seeks to issue A-khata through the Uniform Land Record Management System for those currently holding B-khata. We have already received 7,000 applications and anticipate many more,” he stated.

Shivakumar added that the state government has set a 15-day timeline for those who have already applied to transition from B-khata to A-khata, with site inspections being conducted during khata issuance.