Over 17.9 lakh citizens use Gujarat's iORA portal for digital revenue services

Ahmedabad, Dec 19 (PTI) More than 17.9 lakh citizens used iORA (Integrated Online Revenue Applications) portal for faceless revenue services in Gujarat, officials said on Friday.

iORA is a digital platform for accessing land revenue services, allowing citizens to apply for and get certified copies of property/land records (like 7/12 extracts, property cards) online.

"The portal has processed more than 17.9 lakh applications since 2022 across 36 services, including land records, inheritance entries and non-agricultural (NA) permissions," officials said.

The iORA Feedback Centre has responded to 40,799 calls, they said.

The state's revenue department has undertaken comprehensive digital reforms that have benefited farmers, industries and infrastructure projects, while strengthening both 'Ease of Doing Business' and 'Ease of Living', as per an official release.

One of the more visible outcomes of the reforms has been the near-complete digitisation of land records. Strengthening of the 'e-Dhara' system and resurvey work across 34 districts under the Digital India Land Records Modernisation Programme has led to fewer land disputes and easier access to institutional credit and crop insurance for farmers, it said.

The e-Dhara system is aimed to achieve complete computerisation of land records across the state.

Through the statewide implementation of the Garvi 2.0 portal, the document registration process has been made online.

Under the SVAMITVA (Survey of Villages and Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas) scheme, surveys have been completed in more than 8,700 villages through drone flights, and over 11.52 lakh property cards have been distributed.

SVAMITVA gives rural households legal ownership papers for the homes and land they occupy. Using drones and advanced mapping tools, it clearly marks property boundaries.

Technology has also been deployed to monitor government land. Using high-resolution satellite mapping with ISRO support and AI-based alerts, the Revenue Department has identified encroachments and unauthorised land use.

"Through an intensive drive undertaken to protect government lands in the state, more than 3,990 hectares of land have been freed from encroachment so far. The estimated market value of the recovered land exceeds Rs 3,339 crore," officials said.

To accelerate land acquisition processes, integration has been carried out with the GatiShakti portal, enabling land acquisition for around 60 key public sector projects in the state. Successful land acquisition for major projects such as the Bullet Train project, the Vadodara–Mumbai Expressway, the Abu Road–Taranga Hill Railway, and Keshod Airport has ensured that farmers receive compensation in a timely manner, as per release.

The reforms, carried out under Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, align with the Centre's broader push for digital governance to bring the state moves closer to its long-term development targets for Viksit Bharat @ 2047, it added. PTI KVM NP