Telangana Bhu Bharathi Bill tabled in Assembly, opposition parties demand discussion

Introducing the Bill in the Assembly, Srinivas Reddy said within three months, the rules for the 2024 Bill would be framed and awareness programmes would be conducted at mandal and village levels

Hyderabad: The Telangana Bhu Bharathi (Record of Rights in Land) Bill 2024 was introduced in the State Assembly on Wednesday by Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy. He claimed that the Bill, which replaced the existing RoR Act and the Dharani portal initiated by the previous BRS government, was designed to resolve land disputes, overhaul the revenue system, ensure transparency in land transactions and protect the rights of small and marginal farmers.

Introducing the Bill in the Assembly, Srinivas Reddy said within three months, the rules for the 2024 Bill would be framed and awareness programmes would be conducted at mandal and village levels. Developed after thorough consultations with experts, public representatives, and farmers, the new Bill offers a comprehensive resolution to land-related issues, he said, adding that the government studied revenue systems from 18 States and sought feedback from all stakeholders before drafting the Bill.

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Though the government suspended the rules and sought to get the bill passed in the Assembly, the opposition parties came together and forced the ruling Congress to agree for a discussion on Thursday before the bill was passed. BRS MLA T Harish Rao, AIMIM floor leader Akbaruddin Owaisi, BJP MLA Palvai Harish Babu and CPI MLA Kunamneni Sambhasiva Rao raised their objections to the government’s efforts to pass the Bill in haste. They sought a day to study the bill and suggest amendments.

Following increased pressure from the opposition, Legislative Affairs Minister D Sridhar Babu obliged their request. Accordingly, Speaker Gaddam Prasad agreed for a discussion on the Bill on Thursday and adjourned the House.

Highlights of the Bill:

– Protection of the rights of small and marginal farmers owning 5-10 guntas of land without clear ownership.

– Facilitation of registration of Saada Bainamas for the 9.24 lakh applications submitted by November 10, 2020, under the Saada Bainama scheme.

– Tribunals will address grievances of farmers whose applications were rejected during earlier registration processes.

– Resolving issues related to 18.26 lakh acres of private and government lands under Part-B of the Dharani portal, with land passbooks issued before 2014 as a reference.

– Spot registration and mutation for land sales with clear ownership. Disputes can be appealed to the Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO) or district collectors, designated as appellate authorities.

– For inherited lands, revenue officials will determine rightful ownership based on family claims before mutation. Appeals will also be addressed at the RDO and district collector levels.

– Restoration of Jamabandi, a village-level land record review system, discontinued in 2020. Village revenue officers (VROs) and assistants (VRAs) will be reinstated in 10,956 villages to maintain land transaction records and safeguard government lands.

– Manual revenue records will be digitized, and a Bhudhar Card with a unique code will be issued to farmers, detailing their land holdings.

– Legal protection for those holding Aabadi and Grama Kantham lands through ownership cards.

– The Dharani portal’s simplified structure will be expanded to include six modules and restore land records to 11 columns.

– The Bhu Bharathi app will allow citizens to lodge complaints about encroachments, monitored by the Revenue department.

– The government plans to recover illegally occupied government lands and redistribute them to the poor. Strict action will be taken against officials involved in illegal land transactions.