Congress' Bhoomata to be Implemented After Consultations

HYDERABAD: The Revanth Reddy-led Congress government is likely to adopt a three-pronged strategy, bringing in some immediate measures while working on its promise to replace the Dharani portal, the land records system.

The strategy includes a forensic audit on three lakh acres of land added to the portal in the past year, including those in and around Hyderabad where influential people in the previous BRS government allegedly became the ultimate beneficiaries.

These land parcels were kept out of the portal at the time of its launch, citing disputes over and discrepancies in the land title.

The government has been actively pursuing a method to create appellate provisions within the existing Dharani modules as an immediate course correction measure.

The ultimate objective of bringing in Bhoomata, the Congress’ version of Dharani, would be implemented after wideranging discussions with all stakeholders on the lines of Koneru Ranga Rao land reforms committee appointed by then Chief Minister Dr Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy.

The basic flaw in the Dharani portal, according to revenue officials, is the lack of appellate provisions that were deliberately removed by the previous government under the guise of eliminating litigation and manipulation of records.

 “The system would have been suitable when the land records are perfect and there are no title discrepancies or disputes. Nearly 20 lakh acres have still not entered Dharani,” sources said adding that the same lacuna was exploited by influential people to lay their hands on valuable land parcels.

The affected parties have to approach the judiciary which is not only expensive as a certain portion of the land value should be deposited as court fee, but also time-consuming.

The revenue department has been asked to study the possibilities of amending the existing Act and add the redressal mechanism. “To begin with we can consider some sort of tribunals at least at the erstwhile combined district level,” sources pointed out. After new heads of three police commissionerates – Hyderabad, Cyberabad and Rachakonda – took charge, sources said people have been flocking to police with complaints of change in ownership in Dharani and forcible eviction in connivance of revenue and police personnel.

“It is rather shocking that people who owned and are in possession of land for decades find themselves evicted overnight,” said a senior police official adding that the standard operating procedures (SoPs) for police in dealing with land cases were flouted to help the influential persons.

Sources said the officials had been gathering data on transfer of title to private parties over government lands as well as inam and jagir land parcels on which government has been claiming ownership.

The data will also capture transfer of ownership from one party to another private party using Dharani. Sources said ab-out three lakh acres which were kept out of Dharani had been legalised in last one year itself and forensic audit would reveal the genuineness of these transactions.