Dharani to Replace Record of Rights-2024 or Bhu Bharathi
The Telangana government is set to introduce a new land law to address persistent land issues in the state. The current Record of Rights (ROR)-2024 law, Dharani to Replace Record of Rights-2024 or Bhu Bharathi, implemented by the previous government, has proven ineffective, prompting the Revanth Sarkar administration to draft a new legislation. Read on for more details.
Current Land Issues in Telangana
The Revanth Sarkar administration is actively working to resolve the ongoing land issues in Telangana. The current ROR-2020 law, which was introduced as a replacement for the old law during the implementation of the Dharani Portal by the BRS government, has not yielded the desired results. After a thorough review by a special committee appointed by the Congress government, it was concluded that the ROR-2024 law fails to provide a permanent solution to land disputes, and has, in fact, created additional problems.
Significant Changes Proposed
The special committee, consisting of experts, has recommended either significant amendments to the existing law or its complete repeal and replacement with a new one. Following these recommendations, the state government has decided to draft a new law instead of amending the existing one. The new law, tentatively named Record of Rights-2024, is being carefully designed to include essential changes and address the flaws of the current law. The draft of the new law is expected to be presented for approval in the upcoming Assembly Budget session in July.
Expected Improvements in the New Law
One of the key improvements anticipated in the new law is the decentralization of powers among various levels of officials to resolve land issues more effectively. The new law aims to provide clear guidelines on the powers and responsibilities of collectors, RDOs, and tahsildars. Additionally, it will address the issue of 18 lakh acres of land that were placed in Part-B without issuing passbooks, and another 9 lakh acres of land that were transacted under Sadabinama without obtaining passbooks. The new law seeks to provide solutions for these lands and ensure proper documentation.
Introduction of ‘Bhubharathi’ Portal
The state government is also planning to replace the Dharani Portal with a new Bhubharathi Portal. This initiative aims to resolve over one lakh pending farmer issues within a week to ten days. The Dharani Committee has been conducting an in-depth study to identify and remove various obstacles hindering the resolution of land issues. The new Bhubharathi Portal will streamline the process and bring under one umbrella the various land laws that currently exist, simplifying the resolution of land disputes.
Challenges with the Existing ROR-2020 Law
The current ROR-2020 law, implemented by the BRS government, did not come with adequate guidelines for resolving issues at the mandal, divisional, district, and state levels. This lack of clarity on the powers of officials at various levels has compounded the problems. Furthermore, the existence of multiple revenue laws has created additional hurdles in resolving land issues. The new law aims to bring all these laws under a single framework to prevent future conflicts.
Government’s Efforts to Resolve Pending Land Issues
The Telangana government has been actively working to resolve the 2.46 lakh pending applications related to land issues from the previous administration. In addition, a special drive conducted in the first week of March by the Congress government received over 60,000 new applications. As a result, the total number of applications has surpassed three lakhs. According to the Dharani Committee, over one lakh issues have been resolved at the mandal, constituency, and district levels and have been forwarded to the CCLA for further action. The process of uploading these resolved issues to the Dharani Portal is ongoing, and it is expected that these issues will be fully resolved within a week to ten days.
Focus on Legal and Administrative Reforms
The government is also focusing on resolving land issues pending in courts and family disputes. The Dharani Committee has identified a significant number of issues that can be resolved at the collector level under the TM-33 module. The committee believes that a new ROR law is necessary to address Part-B and Sadabinama issues fully. The lack of proper guidelines during the implementation of the ROR-2020 law has rendered it ineffective, and the new law aims to rectify this.
Minister Ponguleti’s Update on Dharani Portal Cleanup
Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy has stated that the state government is taking steps to clean up the Dharani Portal. Due to errors in the portal, many farmers have been deprived of welfare benefits from the government. The Dharani Committee has completed its work on the new ROR law and is ready to present it to the Revenue Minister for review before introducing it in the Assembly. The government plans to take over the Dharani Portal system, which is currently under private management, to ensure better control and efficiency.
The Telangana government’s proactive approach in drafting a new land law and replacing the Dharani Portal with the Bhubharathi Portal demonstrates its commitment to resolving long-standing land issues and providing clarity and relief to farmers and landowners in the state.
