Landowners in Telangana left in lurch as Bhu Bharati deadlines keep shifting

The portal, which was officially rolled out on April 14 to replace Dharani, is yet to deliver tangible relief to a majority of complainants

Hyderabad: The Congress government’s much-hyped Bhu Bharati portal, introduced with the promise of resolving long-pending land disputes, is fast losing credibility among landowners. Despite a series of public assurances and carefully set deadlines, the ground reality remains unchanged for thousands still awaiting redressal.

Launched to replace the Dharani portal, Bhu Bharati was touted as a transparent and people-centric solution to fix irregularities in land records and registrations. However, more than two months into its rollout, the portal is yet to deliver tangible relief to a majority of complainants.

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In February this year, Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy declared that around 2.45 lakh pending applications under the Dharani system would be cleared through ‘Revenue Sadassulu’ (meetings) held between March 1 and 7. Subsequently, the Bhu Bharati portal was officially rolled out on April 14, with pilot projects initiated in four mandals. The government aimed to resolve all land-related issues by May 1 in these areas.

However, by late April, the deadline was extended to June 2, coinciding with Telangana Formation Day. But the Minister extended the deadline once again for resolving all land-related issues to August 15, leaving landowners in limbo.

Earlier this month, officials claimed 60 per cent of issues in pilot mandals had been addressed, most linked to Sada Bainamas. But about 40 per cent of disputes are still unresolved. The government is holding a fresh round of ‘Revenue Sadassulu’ across all mandals from June 3 to 20 to address complaints in the respective mandals.

But frustration is growing among landowners with many of them alleging that the Congress government’s repeated shifting of deadlines reflects a lack of political will and administrative preparedness. They say that they are being forced to make multiple visits to revenue offices with no clarity on when their issues will be resolved.

The uncertainty is also affecting land transactions across Telangana. Stamps and Registration officials also admit that delays in resolving land disputes are dampening activity, particularly in agricultural lands.

While the Bhu Bharati portal promised a fresh platform, it has so far delivered only familiar bureaucratic delays. Unless the State government initiates corrective measures, the resolution on land-related matters might remain a far-fetched dream.