The Telangana government has initiated a new phase of reforms in land administration. The old “Dharani” system has been completely revamped and replaced with the newly implemented “Bhu Bharati” system. The Congress government has formulated the Bhu Bharati Bill to safeguard the rights of farmers and landowners, ensure security, and provide various kinds of assistance and support. In place of Dharani, the Telangana Bhu Bharati Act 2024 has been introduced with 19 sections, offering a comprehensive legal framework. This law provides legal rights for every acre of land, while also establishing strong provisions for the protection of these rights. Unlike before, where land disputes were taken to courts, the new system introduces a two-tier appeal mechanism at the district level to avoid unnecessary delays.
The government has made provisions in the Bhu Bharati Act for the issuance of title deeds for village lands, which previously did not have any rights for residential purposes, after many years. Several sections have been introduced to legally address the issues faced by farmers and landowners. Similar to the previous Dharani system, there have been no changes in the process of land registration and mutation in the Bhu Bharati Act. Within three months of its implementation, officials will develop comprehensive guidelines. After that, the sections and provisions of the Act will be enforced, as clarified by the government. The Telangana government has designed the Telangana Revenue Act 2024 (ROR-2024) after studying the robust revenue laws of states known for their strong land administration systems.
The government has established a special system for the swift resolution of land disputes through an appeals process at different administrative levels. Under the Bhu Bharati Act, if a land issue is not resolved at the Mandal Revenue Officer (MRO) level, it can be appealed to the Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO), and from there, to the District Collector. For legal land disputes, the government will set up specialised Land Tribunals. Along with Division, District, and State-level Land Tribunals, the government will also appoint a Land Administration Tribunal Commission.
In case of a land dispute, if the issue is not resolved at the Tahsildar level, an appeal can be made to the RDO within 60 days. If the dispute remains unresolved at the RDO level, it can be appealed to the District Collector within another 60 days. The Collector’s decision will be final in these appeals. However, in certain land disputes, a direct application may need to be made to the RDO. If there is a disagreement with the solution provided by the officer, the appeal can be made to the Collector within 30 days. In some cases, applications may need to be made directly to the Collector, and if the Collector’s order is disputed, an appeal can be made to the Land Administration Tribunal within 30 days. The law has been designed to ensure a clear and accessible process for resolving land disputes at various levels of authority.
A special section has been included in the Bhu Bharati Act to regularise Sada Bainama purchases. Under Section 6(1) of the ROR-2024 Act, it has been decided to regularise purchases made through agreements on white papers before June 2, 2014. Between September 12 and October 10, 2020, under the ROR 1971 Act, 9.24 lakh applications were received, and the regularisation process is still pending. The RDO level will conduct an inquiry and oversee the regularization process.
In cases involving properties without valid documents, the practice of simultaneous registration and mutation during the transfer of ownership rights has been abolished. From now on, heirs will be required to submit a joint explanation during the mutation process. The Tahsildar will issue notices to all relevant family members and initiate the inquiry. Only after this process is complete will the mutation be finalised, and according to Section 7(4), details will be provided to all family members.
According to Section 4(1) of the Bhu Bharati Act, records of all land rights in the villages of the state will be created. Using drone technology, land portions will be specifically mapped. The names and details of landowners, patta holders, and tenants will be recorded, ensuring the recognition of ownership of these properties.
Under the new law, full rights will be granted to residential properties in villages without habitation or in village boundary areas. Even residential properties will receive a patta land title deed or a certificate from the government. The management of these lands will continue online. The government has decided to conduct a special program for granting rights to habitation lands soon. After that, the process of designing records for these rights will begin.
During land transactions, the land survey and subdivision survey maps must be attached to the land files that are submitted to the Tahsildar and Joint Sub-Registrar. This will help eliminate double registrations and disputes over encroachments on government lands. Measures are being taken to store survey maps in revenue records as part of this process.
The new law also includes security provisions for the protection of all types of government lands. The government will now address encroachments through suo-motu investigations. If any changes, additions, or corrections are made in the records under the Revenue Department, the Chief Commissioner of Land Administration (CCLA) will have the authority to conduct investigations, either independently or upon application. If land rights are issued fraudulently, the district collector will have the authority to cancel the landholder’s title deed. The district collector will also have the power to remove the relevant Tahsildar from their duties, reclaim the land, and take criminal action if necessary.
The government is set to establish a volunteer system at the mandal level to provide legal advice and guidance on land-related issues. This will allow the poor to receive legal counsel free of charge, without any cost. The previous BRS government had enacted the ROR-2020 law, which was designed without any possibility for changes, and no authority was granted to anyone at any level. However, under the new Congress government, the ROR-2024 law allows the government to amend any sections or clauses through a notification as per needs.
Additionally, during the revenue record cleanup carried out by the previous government in 2017-18, 18 lakh acres of land with minor issues were left unresolved. The current government has decided to bring clarity to these lands by conducting a thorough investigation and facilitating the issuance of land rights.
The central government is considering implementing the Land Title Act nationwide. The main objective of this is to determine permanent land boundaries for each plot based on latitude and longitude coordinates, ensuring secure protection. To facilitate this, the “Bhudhaar” system has been introduced. In this context, the Telangana state government has decided to issue a unique number and card for each land parcel in the state. However, the government has expressed concerns that issuing permanent Bhudhaar cards before the completion of full land surveys could lead to ownership issues in the future. Therefore, the new Bhu Bharthi law accommodates two approaches: issuing temporary Bhudhaar cards based on current records and issuing permanent Bhudhaar cards after a comprehensive survey is completed.
This website uses cookies.