National E-Governance Awards: BLUIS Odisha Wins ‘Gold’ For Excellence In Adopting Emerging Technologies

Bhubaneswar: Bhubaneswar Land Use Intelligent System (BLUIS), a mobile-based application to monitor encroachment of government land under Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) limits, has bagged ‘Gold’ at the National Award for e-Governance 2020-21, for excellence in adopting emerging technologies.

The award will be handed over at the 24th National Conference on e-Governance scheduled to be held on January 708 in Hyderabad, a press release said.

“BLUIS uses space technology and Artificial Intelligence to monitor changes on Govt lands and safeguard them. Odisha is a pioneer in using emerging technology in this field,” Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had tweeted during its launch in July 2020.

The app has been developed by Odisha Space Applications Center (ORSAC), using Space Technology, Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML)-based image processing, Geo-ICT and web technologies, for safeguarding government lands in Bhubaneswar.

BLUIS has geotagged all government land in Bhubaneswar and safeguards them using satellite imagery and AI. It helps detect unauthorized constructions on pieces of land, which are under the General Administration Department, BMC and Bhubaneshwar Development Authority, and sends alerts to enforcement authorities regarding illegal settlements and changes in land use.

According to available data, around 768 encroachment alerts were generated by BLUIS app till November 2021. These include 613 alerts by satellite and AI-based systems, 130 encroachment alerts reported by citizens, and 25 encroachments by department officials.

In 2020, GO SWIFT (Government of Odisha Single Window for Investor Facilitation and Tracking) had won Silver for Excellence in Government Process Re-engineering for Digital Transformation.