Telangana Govt to Issue New Pattadar Passbooks

Hyderabad: The state government will replace over 70 lakh Pattadar passbooks issued by the previous BRS administration following the passage of the Bhu Bharati Bill in the recent Legislative Assembly session. The new passbooks will feature 11 columns, including a detailed history of land ownership, compared to the single-column format of the controversial Dharani system.

The process of issuing the fresh pattadar passbooks is slated to begin in April, in the upcoming financial year, according to official sources.

The Bhu Bharati Bill has been sent to Governor Jishnu Dev Varma for the approval. Upon its approval, the Dharani portal will be replaced by the Bhumata portal.

The updated Pattadar passbooks will include a Bhudaar number, a unique identification number akin to Aadhaar, assigned to each agriculture landowner in Telangana. Initially, a temporary Bhudaar will be issued, indicating that geo-referencing of land parcels is still pending.

A detailed field survey will follow to address any discrepancies in agricultural land records. Upon completion, landowners will receive permanent Bhudaar numbers, confirming the accuracy of geo-referenced data.

The Dharani system of the BRS government had replaced Pattadar passbooks issued under the undivided Andhra Pradesh government. While the Dharani passbooks consolidated land ownership into a single column, they omitted critical details found in earlier versions, leading to widespread criticism and allegations of discrepancies.

In response, the Congress government decided to abolish the Dharani Act and enact the Bhu Bharati Act, aligning the new system with the Record of Rights (RoR) Act provisions introduced during the recent Assembly session.