Telangana CM A Revanth Reddy File Photo
On Sunday, the chief minister held a high-level meeting for the second consecutive day to oversee the launch preparations.
HYDERABAD: The state government is set to launch the Telangana Bhu Bharati (Record of Rights in Land) Act, 2024, on Monday evening, to mark the 134th birth anniversary of Dr BR Ambedkar, the architect of the Constitution. Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy will inaugurate the Bhu Bharati portal — an integrated online revenue records management system — replacing the existing Dharani portal on Monday evening.
On Sunday, the chief minister held a high-level meeting for the second consecutive day to oversee the launch preparations. He directed officials to make the portal user-friendly and accessible to the common man, with a vision to maintain it for the next 100 years. He also emphasised the need for robust cybersecurity measures, including firewalls to protect the portal against potential cyberattacks. He added that the portal’s maintenance would be entrusted to a credible organisation.
Bhu Bharati will initially be introduced in three mandals. The portal will offer services including registrations, mutations, appeals and revisions, ROR corrections, conversion to non-agricultural land, and more. It will also provide information on e-challan, encumbrance details, prohibited lands, land rights, land market value and registered document details.
In a statement, the chief minister said: “As promised by the people’s government, a new Record of Rights (ROR) Act has been created to provide quality services through the Bhu Bharati portal, replacing Dharani — the root of many issues. Farmers can now access services like registrations and mutations, and I’m happy to say Bhu Bharati will offer a lasting solution to long-standing land problems.”
As the government phases out the Dharani portal, it has expedited proposals to initiate a “forensic audit” of land records. Highly placed sources confirmed that a Central government agency will be tasked with conducting the audit.
Although Dharani was originally introduced to streamline land transactions and enhance transparency, it faced widespread criticism due to operational issues.
Bhu Bharati to be rolled out in three mandals initially
Farmers reported Dharani application rejections for trivial reasons, such as selecting the wrong module and refund delays after transaction failures. The removal of the ‘occupier’ column in land records caused further chaos, as it enabled previous owners to claim land, leading to land disputes and litigation.
On Sunday, Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy announced that Bhu Bharati would initially be rolled out in three mandals — Thirumalagiri (Nalgonda), Sadasivapet (Medak), and Keesara (Rangareddy) — and implemented throughout the state in a phased manner by Telangana Formation Day, June 2. He said the government is open to learning from initial shortcomings and will rectify them before the statewide rollout.
“The Congress had promised to dump the Dharani portal in the Bay of Bengal, and we have honoured that promise by bringing in land reforms,” the minister said. “By dumping Dharani in the Bay of Bengal, we mean discarding a flawed concept of land governance,” he added.
He noted that existing land records will be reflected in the new portal and the government is working to integrate around four years of Pahani (land ownership) details.
The minister said the new system is far more robust than Dharani and that the government will seek a referendum on Bhu Bharati and related land reform legislation in the 2029 Assembly elections.
He added that village revenue officers (VROs) will be in place in all 10,956 villages by May. The VROs would be chosen from other departments.
The minister also announced that the number of surveyors in the Revenue department would be increased from 480 to 1,000 and 6,000 private surveyors would be licenced and properly trained.
Services on offer
- Registrations
- Mutations
- Appeals & revisions
- ROR corrections, conversion to non-agricultural land
- E-challan details
- Encumbrance details
- Prohibited lands
- Land rights details
- Land market value
- Registered document details
Source: New Indian Express
