Gujarat Revenue Dept Embraces AI, Blockchain & GIS for Land Reform

Held at Amba Business Park in Adalaj, the second day of the Shibir brought together senior officials and domain experts who were divided into seven thematic groups to examine key areas of land administration and revenue services.

Additional Chief Secretary Dr Jayanti Ravi was present during the deliberations, where participants reviewed ways to simplify procedures and strengthen accountability in revenue operations.

The group discussions covered a wide range of administrative subjects. One group focused on optimising processes such as land use change permissions through ILA and mutation procedures.

Another examined the expansion of paperless and faceless property registration systems along with strengthening of RCCMS.

A separate group discussed urban land record management and governance frameworks, while another focused on ethics and integrity in revenue administration.

Further sessions addressed the modernisation of survey and re-survey processes, strategies for enhancing administrative efficiency and disaster preparedness among government personnel, and the challenges associated with land acquisition and land allocation procedures.

Across all groups, officials reviewed existing workflows and proposed reforms aimed at improving speed, accuracy and transparency in service delivery.

A major technical session on land governance technologies was led by Assistant Professor at IIT Gandhinagar, Sameer Kulkarni, who outlined the potential of artificial intelligence and blockchain in transforming revenue systems.

He explained that blockchain technology can make land records tamper-proof by ensuring that once data is recorded, it cannot be altered without authorisation, thereby reducing the scope for manipulation and fraud while strengthening ownership clarity and reducing reliance on intermediaries.

He further detailed how artificial intelligence could be used across revenue administration for document verification, automatic survey number matching, pattern detection in disputed cases, fraud prediction and faster processing of citizen services.

He also highlighted the use of optical character recognition and natural language processing to digitise and interpret legal and historical land documents, enabling systems to flag anomalies and assist officials in identifying irregularities in records.

The session also examined implementation challenges, including data security, privacy safeguards, avoidance of algorithmic bias, auditability of digital systems, and the need to maintain human oversight in administrative decision-making.

The importance of staff training and adherence to legal and ethical standards was also discussed, along with the need for robust governance frameworks to support digital transition in revenue administration.

In a separate technical presentation, Pankaj Bodani, Deputy Head of VEDAS (Web Services and Analytics Division) at the Space Applications Centre of ISRO in Ahmedabad, explained the application of GIS and remote sensing in land management.

He said these technologies enable accurate land use mapping, continuous monitoring of land conditions, classification of agricultural and forest areas, assessment of water resources and planning of urban development with greater precision and speed.

He noted that integration of ISRO satellite data with GIS platforms can reduce land-related disputes, support timely updating of revenue records and provide a scientific basis for development planning.

The presentation also highlighted the use of such technologies in improving land governance systems and strengthening data-driven decision-making in administrative processes.

Officials stated that the discussions collectively aimed at improving land administration systems by combining policy reforms with technological solutions.

The outcomes of the Shibir are expected to inform future efforts to enhance efficiency, transparency and reliability in revenue services across the state.

- IANS