Hyderabad: Dharani Portal to Be Replaced with Bhu Bharati for Better Land Management
The Dharani portal is being phased out, not out of spite, but because it has caused significant problems for the public, said Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy. Speaking during the introduction of the Bhu Bharati Bill 2024 in the State Assembly on Wednesday, the Minister explained that even land registrations had to be halted for four months due to issues with the Dharani portal.
Under the new Bhu Bharati system, the government aims to resolve landowner issues at local levels such as the MRO (Mandal Revenue Officer), RDO (Revenue Divisional Officer), and Collector offices. This local-level resolution mechanism was not available in the previous law, the Minister added.
The Bhu Bharati system will reintroduce the “Occupant” (Anubhavadarulu) column in land passbooks, which had been removed under the Dharani portal. Additionally, landowners will receive a unique “Bhudhaar” card, similar to the Aadhaar card, for their Pattadar passbooks. According to the Minister, this will offer better security for landowners, especially poor farmers. Furthermore, the government plans to address the 18.26 lakh acres of land classified under “Part B,” provided these cases are not under court jurisdiction.
One major flaw of the Dharani portal, the Minister said, was the lack of an appeal mechanism in case of errors during the mutation process. The proposed Bhu Bharati Act introduces a provision to correct such mistakes by seeking input from family members during the mutation stage. This ensures a more transparent process for registering hereditary land.
The Minister acknowledged that Dharani streamlined the simultaneous completion of documents and mutation when land was sold, calling it the only positive aspect of the previous system. However, he criticized the previous government for neglecting “Sada Bainamas” (simple, informal land agreements). The current government, he said, has resolved 9.24 lakh applications under Sada Bainamas as of November 10, 2024. He also announced that the older methods of maintaining Revenue Records and “Jamabandi” (annual land record verification) from before 2014 would be restored.
To further improve land administration, the government plans to assign one officer to every revenue village, who will be responsible for maintaining all land-related records. A specialized land tribunal will also be established to address land disputes and appeals. For cases involving government lands or records that were deliberately altered, the new system includes a provision for appeals to the Chief Commissioner of Land Administration (CCLA).
The Minister emphasized that Bhu Bharati is a comprehensive solution aimed at addressing long-standing land issues and providing better security and transparency for landowners across the state.
