Hyderabad: Thousands of Families Await New Land Passbooks
About 25,000 families in Telangana are still waiting to receive new land passbooks, even though they already possess land. This issue stems from inconsistencies in the Dharani portal, which has created challenges for many landowners. A special committee working on this matter has identified around 18 lakh acres of land under Part-B, which refers to disputed land between private parties. The committee plans to submit a report to the government with suggestions to resolve this issue before the next Assembly session.
According to sources, many farmers across the state, who collectively own 18 lakh acres of land, have not received updated passbooks that confirm their ownership. These farmers previously had pattadar passbooks supported by title books, allowing them to prove their rights to the land. However, due to past controversies and rushed land transactions during the previous government, these lands were classified under Part-B, making them disputed. For example, in a single mandal like Yacharam, there are 645 unresolved land disputes.
To address these challenges, the State government is preparing to introduce a new Record of Rights (RoR) Act, 2024, in the upcoming winter Assembly session. Along with this, the government is likely to rename the Dharani portal to “Bhumata.” The Dharani committee is working quickly to finalize its recommendations and propose solutions to resolve the long-pending issues. A member of the committee shared that they are exploring options such as resolving disputes through Grama Sabhas (village meetings) or revenue meetings.
At the same time, concerns have been raised about the lack of public discussion on changes to the Revenue Act. A retired Mandal Revenue Officer (MRO) commented that these land disputes are highly complex and require broader public involvement to find effective solutions. The absence of such discussions could make it harder to address the serious issues surrounding land ownership in Telangana.
