Bhu Bharati curbs leave agency area landowners unable to transfer properties

Non-tribal landowners in Telangana's agency areas say Bhu Bharati restrictions and alleged errors in the Section 22-A prohibited properties list are preventing family property transfers. They seek correction of land records, a grievance mechanism and restoration of gift deeds

Hyderabad: The Congress government’s Bhu Bharati land records system has left several non-tribal landowners in Telangana’s agency areas struggling to transfer legally owned properties to their heirs. The alleged errors in placing land parcels on the prohibited properties list have added to their woes.

Landowners holding valid pattadar passbooks are unable to divide their properties among their sons and daughters through gift deeds. Under the previous BRS government, the Dharani portal allowed such family partitions, including transfers to daughters as gifts. The removal of the facility in Bhu Bharati has deprived families of an option to distribute assets during the lifetime of the owner. They are unable to complete registration despite paying the prescribed charges.

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The problem is compounded by the inclusion of legally owned non-tribal lands in the Section 22-A prohibited properties list. While restrictions under the Land Transfer Regulation (LTR), commonly known as the 1/70 Act, are intended to protect tribal land rights, landowners contend that genuine, legally held properties have also been blocked without adequate verification.

The portal’s restrictions have effectively stalled transactions, leaving owners dependent on a cumbersome process involving verification by revenue officials and approval at higher levels. In some cases, the process reportedly moves from the village-level revenue functionary to Mandal Revenue Officer, followed by the Revenue Divisional Officer and even the District Collector.

More than four months after Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy promised to address the problems pertaining to the 22A list, revenue authorities are yet to be provided an edit option to correct erroneous entries and resolve genuine grievances. Landowners also complain that there is no clear, accessible grievance-redressal mechanism to get such restrictions removed.

The government is yet to distinguish genuine tribal land disputes from legally established non-tribal ownership, empower local revenue officials to rectify errors and restore the facility for family partitions and gift deeds. Thus, the present restrictions are denying the legal landowners access to their own property and delaying legitimate transfers to their heirs.