e-Gov in

Karnataka
Kiran Jonnalagadda
Comat Technologies
kiran.j@comat.com
 About Comat
10 years old
Primarily in e-Governance
Startup-like growth curve
Three divisions:
Go Digi – computerisation projects
Go Rural – rural technology projects
Rural BPO – rural work opportunities

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Of the various e-governance projects Comat

has been involved with in Karnataka, the

Bhoomi rural land records

Nemmadi
system and rural

information telecentre projects

deserve attention.
 Bhoomi:
Rural Land Records
 Land Records:
Property Rights
Why is property important?
Means of economic production

For example, farming:

Fertility of soil, size, proximity to
market are important
Land generates revenue. Who benefits
from this revenue?

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“Land Tenure”
 “Land Tenure”

“The conditions under

which land or buildings
are held or occupied.”
Property Rights aren’t absolute.
They’re bounded by the

community. The term

“tenure” captures this balancing of
rights.
 Huh? Take an example: an
independent house on a plot
of land, versus a flat in a building.
You can rebuild the house and make it
bigger. You can’t expand the flat.
The “community” of the building
defines your rights.
 Boundaries of Property
Your House

Plot Plot Plot Plot Pl

Road
Plot Plot Plot Trade Plot
Division of Property
Division of Property
Division of Property

No Access To Road
No Access to Road,
Really!

The “nail house” of Chongqing, China

Yang Wu and Wu Ping fought
f o r a f a i r p r i ce f o r t h e i r
property when a developer
tried forcing them to sell
cheap by digging a deep ditch
around the house. Their story
received worldwide attention.
Eventually, they won.

Fighting it
Out
 joint family? How
What about a

do you cut up the house? Does it

make sense to define property in terms of

individuals? What if property is defined

as owned by the “family?”
Community and
Land Tenure
Tenure is defined by community
Family, neighbourhood, type of land

Distinct communities develop distinct

tenure systems
Tenure is like language and dialect
Tendency to fragment; variations
depending on local conditions

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Administrative Reform:
Defragmentation
Administrations prefer simplicity in
the interest of manageability
Historic tendency (through centuries)
to unify similar tenure systems across
regions into a common definition
Like language again: Hindi and English
across India; English across the world

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 Introducing
Bhoomi
Bhoomi is:
1. Computerisation of oral and paper-
based records
2. Simplification of tenure systems
from over 1200 known types in
Karnataka, to 256

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 Translations Aren’t Easy
Elevator Announcement:

“Please close the door.

Dayamadi gate muchi”
Literally Translated:

“Take pity, close the gate”

Tenures get similarly mangled in a translation process
Computerisation has effects that go far
beyond putting computers in front of

babus. Effects can be both positive

and negative.
Positive Effects of
Bhoomi
Created Transparency
Single repository of authoritative
information on land ownership

Reduced Corruption
The village accountant is no longer
master of the database; is perfunctory

Improved Speed of Processes

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Where do you get a copy of your land records?

Nemmadi:
Rural Telecentres
Common Fallacy
Why does rural need special attention?
Rural = Poor = Stupid, backward, need
to be told what’s good for them
Do not fall for this!
Rural citizens are perfectly normal
people. Examine the circumstances,
not the people

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 Road Network Density
Determines Access to Conveniences & Necessities
Information Network?
Map from 1986: most of the world is offline
 Nemmadi expands the
geographical reach of the
information network
800 telecentres Most locations have
27 districts barely four hours of
177 taluks electric supply at
100 volts, let alone
All major internet access.
habitation
centres How do you setup a
kiosk in such a
location?

By investing in
25 technology
The Nemmadi Network
Nemmadi Telecentre Network Architecture

The Internet

Hughes Downlink,
Gurgaon

RDS,
Tata Bhoomi
Indicom Servers
CDMA
Network
Private Network

GoK
SWAN

LAN

75% Telecentres with VSAT 25% Telecentres with CDMA Backoffice GoK Taluk Server
Private IP Range Public Non-Static IPs No Internet Access
48 kbps 112 kbps

(This diagram is a few months old and may no longer be accurate)

VSAT – Internet via satellite + UPS
Government services:
Bhoomi RTC certificate
Revenue Dept certificates and services
Other departments soon

Education: Sarva Shikshana Abhigyan

Private services
Internet browsing, banking products
Several others upcoming

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 Q&A
Any Questions?