Submit once, track online: Bangalore Development Authority to digitise petitions from January 1 | Bengaluru News

Bengaluru: In a major administrative reform aimed at improving transparency, accountability, and citizen convenience, Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) will roll out a “Unified tappal inward system” from Jan 1, 2026, in partnership with the department of posts.Under the new system, all physical petitions submitted at the BDA office will be received, digitised, and routed electronically through the e-Office platform at a single counter, eliminating multiple entry points and delays in grievance redressal.As part of the initiative, trained India Post personnel will be stationed at the BDA office reception counters to receive all applications, representations, and official correspondence, irrespective of department or section. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) to this effect with the department of posts was formally exchanged by BDA chairman NA Haris.Every page of the submitted documents, including enclosures, will be scanned on the spot and forwarded digitally to the concerned officials within minutes through the e-Office system developed by National Informatics Centre (NIC). Citizens will receive a computer-generated acknowledgement carrying a unique receipt number and follow-up details.Officials said the reform addresses long-standing concerns among citizens about uncertainty over where to submit petitions, whether applications reach the right officials, and the risk of files going missing within the system. Earlier, different BDA sections accepted documents independently, leading to multiple inward points and difficulties in tracking the movement of files. The new system consolidates all inward correspondence into a single, standardised workflow.To improve efficiency and citizen comfort, BDA has also introduced a token-based queue management system. Visitors will be issued tokens and can wait seated while their number is displayed digitally for service at one of five counters. The entire digitisation process, including scanning of enclosures, will take place in front of the applicant, ensuring clarity on what has been officially received.Why India Post?BDA officials said the decision to involve the postal department was driven by its proven expertise in document handling, segregation, and delivery systems. The partnership is expected to bring neutrality and procedural discipline to the inward process, reducing the scope for discretion and manual intervention. Five postal department staff and a supervisor will manage the counters, operating under a formal memorandum of understanding between the two agencies. The unified tappal inward system will apply to all physical submissions, including those meant for the commissioner’s and chairman’s offices, which will no longer receive paper files directly.