Bhu Bharati portal faces scrutiny as Telangana orders security overhaul, probes alleged irregularities

The Telangana government has ordered a security overhaul of the Bhu Bharati portal and formed a Special Committee to investigate alleged irregularities in land records. The BRS has criticised the Congress government, alleging large-scale application rejections and misuse of the portal.

Hyderabad: The Congress government’s claims that the Bhu Bharati portal would usher in transparency and resolve land-related grievances have come under scrutiny as several alleged irregularities have surfaced within months of its rollout.

So much so, the National Informatics Centre( NIC) has been asked to develop entirely new system with enhanced security features to safeguard land records and prevent future breaches.

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Complaints have emerged of valuable land parcels being transferred overnight to different individuals, genuine lands being deliberately classified under the prohibited category, and registration charges paid by farmers and other applicants remaining blocked despite services not being completed.

Amid mounting complaints, the State government has constituted a Special Committee to investigate alleged irregularities in both the Dharani and Bhu Bharati portals.

The move comes despite the government’s earlier assurances that the Bhu Bharati portal would eliminate the shortcomings associated with Dharani and ensure greater transparency and security of land records. The government has already ordered a forensic audit into the alleged irregularities in the Dharani portal, which was operational during the previous BRS regime.

During a recent review meeting, senior officials informed Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy that the Bhu Bharati portal, developed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC), was also found to be vulnerable as it uses technology similar to that of the Dharani portal.
The government suspects that some individuals who had earlier developed modules for the Dharani portal may also be linked to the reported irregularities.
Following the Minister’s directions, the NIC has been asked to develop entirely new system with enhanced security features to safeguard land records and prevent future breaches.

The Special Committee comprises district collectors and senior officials from various departments, including the Registration and Stamps Department, the Telangana Cyber Security Bureau, and the NIC.

The committee has been tasked with identifying those responsible for the irregularities, recommending action against them and suggesting measures to prevent similar incidents in the future. It has been directed to submit its report within 15 days.

Meanwhile, the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) criticised the Congress government over the alleged irregularities in the Bhu Bharati portal and demanded an explanation for the large number of rejected applications.

Former BRS MLA Gadari Kishore sought clarity on the total number of applications received under the Dharani portal, the number disposed of and rejected, and similar data relating to the Bhu Bharati portal.

He alleged that nearly 98 per cent of applications submitted through the Bhu Bharati portal were being rejected, while only one or two per cent allegedly belonging to influential persons were being processed.

Referring to the alleged irregularities in Shamshabad involving the Rangareddy Collector, Kishore claimed that no action had been initiated because of the officer’s proximity to an influential person.

Alleging that the Bhu Bharati portal was being misused to facilitate real estate transactions, he charged that a conspiracy was underway to transfer land worth crores of rupees to people close to those in power.