Telangana: Farmers associations urge resolution of land and Dharani issues

Addressing issues arising from Dharani, a key project of the BRS, has been a major focus of the Congress. A Cabinet sub-committee was formed to seek opinions from stakeholders, and numerous changes to the law are anticipated. Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka's Budget speech specifically mentioned Dharani, and the Chief Minister held a review meeting on the issue before it was discussed in the Assembly. Farmer associations are now urging that their suggestions be considered to rectify the injustices caused by Dharani.

The prominence of land-related issues is evident, as out of the 1.30 crore applications received under ‘Praja Palana’ 70 lakh were related to land and errors on the Dharani website. Deputy CM Bhatti Vikramarka reported that of the 3,49,514 applications received for grievance resolution, 1,79,143 have been addressed.

M. Kodanda Reddy, a member of the Dharani committee, told Deccan Chronicle, “We have sent a draft law to the government. The CM, revenue minister, advocate general, and officials have concluded that the mistakes made by the BRS government will be discussed in the Assembly and changes will be made after public deliberations.”

Farmer unions argue that to correct the records, the government must reinstate Section 26 of the Rights in Land and Pattadar Pass Books Act 1971. This section, which records the names of tenant farmers or those who mortgage the land, was removed by the BRS government, denying rights to tenant farmers and those with sadabainama pattas — land buyers who recorded transactions on white paper without formal registration.

Sarampally Malla Reddy, AIKS state vice-president, said, “The BRS government, which constituted a committee, acknowledged 30 mistakes in the portal. They then took Rs 1,000 from each applicant to correct 13 modules, but not one correction was made. After Congress came to power, we suggested that Section 26 be reinstated, but they are prevaricating in doing that,” adding that the corrections have not yet reflected in farmers' pass books.

The removal of Section 26 denies such farmers access to loans, MSP for crops, and other facilities from banks. Farmers' unions suggest that mistakes made by officials can be corrected through village meetings, as civil courts are often inaccessible for poor farmers. They also advocate for the revival of revenue courts.

Further changes proposed by the unions include abolishing Section 8, which mandates paying mutation fees for land registration in the name of descendants, and revoking Section 22A, which wrongly records private lands in the prohibited list.

To provide proper support to tenant farmers, the government should identify them through gram sabhas and issue loan eligibility cards in line with the Telangana Land Licensed Cultivators Act, 2011. This would enable them to access bank loans, crop insurance, compensation for crop damage, and various government schemes, including subsidies, Malla Reddy added.