In a significant move, the Congress government in Telangana has introduced a new digitised land records management system, “Bhu Bharati”, replacing the earlier model developed by the previous Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government.
The revamped system aims at removing the discrepancies in the previous model and providing a transparent mechanism of land transactions.
Launching the “Bhu Bharati” portal, the Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy said it would be rolled out initially as a pilot project in four mandals (revenue blocks), one in each district.
“Based on the feedback from people and addressing any practical problems arising from its implementation, we will implement it all over the state from June 2, coinciding with the state formation day” he said.
The earlier model “Dharani” was full of loopholes, causing innumerable problems to people, the state Revenue Minister P Srinivas Reddy said. “We have developed “Bhu Bharati” after studying the record of the rights system in as many as 18 states,” he said.
While launching the new portal, the Chief Minister said all the struggles in the Telangana region were linked to land ownership. “The previous government had brought in the Dharani land records system by changing the existing revenue Acts, as a result of which the common people had faced several difficulties to prove their ownership of their lands,” he added.
He alleged that thousands of acres of land were looted by land sharks by exploiting loopholes in Dharani portal. “We promised to dump this Dharani and introduce a new system. We brought in a new revenue record of rights act (RoR Act) to remove the hassles in land transactions,” he said, adding that the government was making efforts to introduce dispute-free land policies.
The CM said that the responsibility of implementation of the new law and reaching the benefits to people lies with the revenue officials. “Our intention is to bring revenue officers closer to people. We are against the idea of making officials guilty in front of people,” he said.
Revanth Reddy also announced that the government will soon introduce “Bhudaar” on the lines of “Aadhaar” for people to have permanent rights over the lands.
“Bhu Bharati” offers comprehensive land-related services including registrations, mutations, appeals, revisions, and conversion to non-agricultural land. Users can also access information on e-challans, encumbrance details, prohibited lands, land rights, market values, and registered document details.
Replacing Dharani was a key election promise made by Congress during the 2023 assembly elections. Although the previous Dharani system was introduced to streamline land transactions and enhance transparency, it faced widespread criticism due to operational issues, ultimately becoming a major controversy that damaged the BRS government's standing.
The Chief Minister highlighted that unlike past practices where farmers were often directed to courts without adequate administrative attention to land revenue problems, the Bhu Bharati Act focuses on resolving land-related issues through the Revenue department.
Follow us
