Hyderabad: The government on Tuesday issued orders transferring the management of the Dharani portal from the private company Terracess to the National Informatics Centre (NIC), a Central government organisation. This move marks a crucial shift from private to public sector management of the state’s integrated land records management system, which had previously raised concerns over security and reliability.
Launched in October 2020 by the previous BRS government, the Dharani portal aimed to streamline land records management in Telangana. The decision to hand over the portal's operations to private agencies led to criticism about data security and operational transparency. Initially, the BRS government handed over the Dharani portal to IL&FS Technologies Ltd and later to TerraCIS. The tenure of the TerraCIS, will end on October 29, paving the way for NIC to take over.
The state government’s decision to transfer management to NIC aligns with broader efforts to improve land administration services and enhance efficiency. The Dharani portal is serving as a digital platform for land records management, providing critical services to landowners, farmers, and revenue officials since October 2020 but faced backlash from people due to errors in land records and no mechanism to rectify errors at district-level.
In parallel, the Congress government, which came to power in December 2023, is working on replacing the Dharani portal with a new system called Bhumata.
This new system aims to rectify the issues that plagued Dharani, particularly the numerous discrepancies in land records that affected agricultural landowners. Farmers faced significant hardships over the last four years due to errors in land records, forcing many to visit the Chief Commissioner of Land Administration (CCLA) office in Hyderabad for rectifications.
The Congress government had promised to scrap the Dharani portal in its Assembly election manifesto and is moving forward with those plans. A new revenue law, called the Record of Rights (RoR) Act, is currently in the final stages of drafting and is expected to be approved at the State Cabinet meeting on October 26. The RoR Act will establish the framework for the Bhumata portal, with the transition process already underway.
One of the key features of the upcoming Bhumata portal is the introduction of the Bhudaar number, a unique identification number akin to Aadhaar, for every landowner in the state. Initially, landowners will receive a temporary Bhudaar, indicating that geo-referencing of the land parcels is still pending. After a comprehensive field survey of agricultural holdings to correct discrepancies, permanent Bhudaar numbers will be issued, signifying that the geo-referencing process is complete.
The state government also plans to issue Bhudaar cards to landowners, similar to Aadhaar cards. These electronic cards will include the Bhudaar number and describe the land parcels as recorded in the state's Record of Rights, making land ownership and land records management more transparent and accessible.
This transfer is part of a three-year operational agreement between the Telangana government and NIC, with the possibility of a two-year extension based on the latter's performance. The state expects substantial financial savings from this move, with revenue officials estimating that it will reduce operational expenses by approximately `1 crore per year.
To ensure a seamless transition, principal secretary of revenue department Naveen Mittal said that TerraCIS staff would continue to support NIC until November 30. This will help facilitate the technical transfer of operations and ensure that the portal’s services remain uninterrupted during the handover.
