Building card, Digi Door PIN features of K-Smart to help avoid hassles of address change after delimitation

Every cycle of delimitation of wards brings with it the troubles caused by change in ward and building numbers. People are often forced to update their documents every few years to reflect the changed building numbers. New features to be introduced in the Local Self-Government department’s K-Smart application could provide a lasting solution to the problem.

The building card feature, set to be integrated soon in the K-Smart application, will provide the history of building numbers of each building before delimitation, Santosh Babu, Chairperson and Managing Director of the Information Kerala Mission (IKM) told The Hindu.

Past building numbers

“The building card will have the details of all past building numbers, before previous delimitations. It will also hold details regarding taxes paid and the arrears pending,” he said.

The IKM is also set to propose a Digi Door PIN for each building, including geotagging and integration of all major utility databases, so that the public need not go through the hassle of updating their documents after each delimitation.

“The Digi Door PIN will hold a whole set of data about your building. The unique longitudes and latitudes of each building will be geo-mapped. After this, a number will be allocated to each building, which will not change unless the building is demolished and rebuilt. The IKM is also suggesting the government to integrate all other utility databases of each building, including that of the Kerala Water Authority and the Kerala State Electricity Board,” said Mr. Babu.

The implementation of the Digi Door PIN project will involve some cost because it requires officials to go door-to-door to geotag each building. Though people can also geotag their house in the K-Smart application, it will still require validation by officials on the ground to ensure there are no discrepancies or disputes. The IKM is confident of implementing the project as its property tax data is now more robust. After the implementation of the K-Smart platform, the property tax collection has also increased by 87%, said Mr. Babu.