BENGALURU: Upbeat about the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) enhancing efficiency in governance, Revenue Minister Krishna Byregowda on Thursday revealed that soon, his department will be rolling out an AI module that will streamline land transactions and registration processes, while bringing in transparency.
Byregowda, who interacted with government officials and leading tech company representatives at the Bengaluru Tech Summit 2024, shared the state government's vision for a tech-driven future, which puts the common man at the centre.
Sharing details about the revenue department's plans for AI deployment, Byregowda said, "With the advent of AI, the opportunities are multifold, to harvest AI for governance. In my department, where I look at land administration and land record management, we are now, as a first step, using AI in our systems for the purpose of land registration."
"In a month's time or so, we are going to roll out this AI module in our department, where people can just plug in basic details of a land transaction. If they want to rent a property, they can just key in the basic details and the system will generate a document for them, using AI," he added.
This will include basic registration documents like rental agreements, lease documents, and so on, diminishing the need to depend on intermediaries to have them drawn. This move is also aimed at making land records and transactions a seamless, transparent affair, while also allowing the government to keep tabs on underpaid stamp duties.
Based on the bot system, the department is trying to enable people to develop their own deeds and transactions.
"I am very shortly going to deploy the same tool to improve efficiency in my revenue collection system. This is aimed to closing any loopholes to make the procedures more seamless and transparent," the minister said.
"Once I roll out this AI-based deed, similarly, a person uploads a deed in the registration system, I am going to run that deed through my AI, and find out the exact purpose for which the deed was formed, and charge the appropriate stamp duty," he added
Through this, it is expected that the department could prevent underpayment of stamp duty to the extent of Rs 500-1,000 crore a year, in Karnataka. "That's the extent of loss today, since there is a lack of tools to prevent it. Just by simple deployment of simple existing technologies, we can improve efficiency in governance," he mentioned.
The use of AI would not only help iron out issues pertaining to land records in rural areas but also curb malpractices in tax payments in urban areas. The use of basic available tech will ensure Bengaluru's infrastructure and investment requirements are precisely met, Byregowda said, concluding,
"AI can do wonders in healthcare and education too, where the problems are better defined. AI will also indicate to the government where the lags and issues are, and what needs to be done to enhance the delivery of healthcare and education in the state. On the whole, innovation can reduce very complex problems to very simple solutions."