Congress push for Sada Bainama regularisation sparks cost burden fears among farmers

Telangana has resumed the regularisation of Sada Bainama land transactions, but farmers fear steep fees as the government plans to raise up to Rs 1,200 crore. Slow verification, outdated records and disputes with original landowners are delaying progress across several districts.

Hyderabad: The Congress government‘s plan to raise around Rs 1,000 to 1,200 crore through the regularisation of Sada Bainama land transactions has stirred unease among small and marginal farmers. While their regularisation has been a longstanding demand, farmers are afraid that the government’s revenue-generation plans may translate into steep fees for landholders who largely own less than five acres.

Sada Bainamas are informal handwritten sale agreements widely used in rural Telangana. The previous BRS government initiated the process based on the RoR Act of 2020, attracting around 9.26 lakh applications covering over 10 lakh acres across the State. However, some applicants approached the High Court which issued stay orders because of legal disputes following the repeal of ROR-1971. After the High Court lifted the stay in August this year, the Congress government resumed the process. The Revenue Department has since issued notices under ROR-2025 and begun field verification.

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Although the government has formally launched the process, progress on the ground has remained sluggish for the past two months. Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy recently admitted delays, attributing them to stringent checks aimed at preventing fraudulent claims. While guidelines prioritising field verification are in place, the State government is yet to finalise the regularisation fee, which has become a cause of concern for farmers.

The complexity of verification is also emerging as a major hurdle. Many agreements date back more than 11 years, leaving farmers with little documentation beyond the original plain-paper agreement. With Jamabandi halted since 2016 and pahani entries outdated or inaccurate, revenue officials are relying heavily on inquiries, witness statements and tax receipts.

Under the new framework, Sada Bainamas executed before June 2, 2014 are eligible. Tahsildars will conduct initial inquiries, following which Revenue Divisional Officers will take a final call under Section 6 of the Land Records Act and issue pattas to eligible claimants. Officials have begun issuing notices to buyers and sellers under ROR-2025.

However, the process is complicated further by the reluctance of original landowners, whose names still appear in revenue records, to cooperate. In several districts, particularly Warangal, Khammam, Nalgonda and Adilabad, landowners are demanding money from occupants before confirming past transactions. In cases where sellers have died, their heirs are raising objections or contesting claims.