Unique id for properties in Bengaluru

It is no longer the postal address. In a first in India, each property in Bengaluru will have a digital address in about two weeks in keeping with the city’s image as the nation’s technology capital. The BBMP, which is working on this ambitious project in collaboration with Keonics, is giving finishing touches to what it calls the digital identification number. The civic body calls the project and the mobile app that comes with it as DiGi-7 as each address is identifiable with a seven-digit alphanumeric, with each combination of letter and numeral assigned to an area, sub-area, lanes and bylanes. “The numbers have been allotted to approximately 20 lakh properties — both vacant and occupied — in city corporation limits. The seven-digit unique ID is a permanent number which will not change even if the property ownership changes,” said BBMP special commissioner (finance, revenue and advertisement) Manoj Rajan. Citizens can get their DiGi-7 numbers by sending an SMS or calling BBMP’s call centre and submitting their property identification number (PID), logging on to DiGi-7 portal or downloading the DiGi-7 navigator mobile app. The mobile app will help people share their unique property numbers with others via SMS, WhatsApp or other applications. Precision is the key here. Unlike the existing map locations, DiGi-7 does not stop a few metres away from the location but will take you to the doorsteps, Rajan said. For the sake of assigning the seven-digit unique ID, the BBMP has divided the city into three grids — main, sub and micro grids. The main grid spreads over one sq km (three-digit numeric) area, a sub grid spans 200x200 square metres (one alphabet) and a micro grid of 10x10 square metres (two alphabets). The number of properties within the micro grid are again allotted a numeral, making it a seven-digit ID. Citizen groups have given a thumbs-up but warn that such incremental progress will make no sense if the BBMP does not fix basic citizen needs such as hassle-free payment of property taxes through the online portal.