Bhu Bharati replaces Dharani

Hyderabad: The state government on Wednesday introduced a new revenue law titled ‘Telangana Bhu Bharati (Record of Rights in Land) Act, 2024’ in the Legislative Assembly, which aims at a significant overhaul of the state’s land management system. The Act replaces the controversial Dharani portal with the new Bhu Bharati portal, which seeks to address longstanding issues and simplify processes for landowners and farmers.

Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy introduced the new Revenue Act in the Assembly and explained its salient features.

Before coming to power in 2023, the Congress had promised to replace the Dharani portal with the Bhumata portal. However, the government has chosen the name Bhu Bharati.

The Act replaces the Telangana Rights in Land and Pattadar Passbooks Act, 2020, and seeks to rectify deficiencies and lapses that caused hardships to farmers under the previous government.

The new Act introduces several groundbreaking reforms, including the issuance of a ‘Bhudaar number’, a unique identification number for every landowner, akin to Aadhaar for individuals.

This move is expected to streamline the land ownership process and provide greater transparency. The Act restores village revenue system such as appointment of VROs, VRAs who supervised revenue and land issues in villages, which was abolished by the BRS government in 2020.

The Act also aims to resolve long-pending land disputes, with nearly 18 lakh acres of disputed lands currently placed under the "Part B" category in Dharani portal being prioritised for resolution. It also addresses the challenges of Abadi or Gramkantam lands in rural areas, a problem left unresolved for decades.

A significant reform includes the establishment of appellate authorities at multiple levels such as RDO, district collector, revenue tribunals among others to address mistakes in land mutations, a provision that was absent in the Dharani system. Additionally, while processing land mutations, notices will be issued to family members to ensure transparency and prevent disputes over inheritance and hereditary lands.

The government has empowered Revenue Divisional Officers (RDOs) with mutation powers for 14 types of land rights, including sale deeds and court-ordered rights. Applications for simple title deeds, which were left unresolved under Dharani, will now be processed, addressing approximately 9.24 lakh pending cases.

The government conducted pilot projects in Tirumalagiri mandal (Nagarjunasagar constituency) and Yacharam mandal (Rangareddy district) to test the new system. Inputs from public consultations and an analysis of land laws in 18 other states were incorporated into the new Act.

The Bhu Bharati portal simplifies user interactions by reducing the number of modules from 33 in Dharani to just six. This will make it easier for farmers to navigate the system. Additionally, the manual Pahani system, which was reduced to a single column in Dharani, will now include 11 columns, ensuring comprehensive land record details.

Landowners will have access to their complete land records, eliminating the opacity of the Dharani system, where some information was locked in government databases. The portal will also provide real-time updates on application progress via mobile phone notifications.

To prevent encroachment on government lands, the portal allows the public to report such incidents. The Act also introduces measures to protect revenue records, including maintaining manual copies alongside computer records.

The government has included strict provisions to penalise officials for deliberate tampering with records. Land tribunals will be established for resolving disputes, with a focus on ensuring justice for farmers and landowners.

The government stated that the new Act is designed to meet the needs of future generations while rectifying the shortcomings of the previous revenue systems. With a focus on transparency, accountability, and efficiency, the Telangana Bhu Bharati Act, 2024 is poised to revolutionise land management in the state.

The government stated that the new Act will be a progressive step towards resolving land disputes and safeguarding the rights of Telangana’s farmers and landowners.