MP Rabindranath
Congress tweaks BRS’s land portal, but how much really changes?
When Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy replaced the much-touted Dharani portal with a new land records platform named Bhu Bharati, it reminded many citizens of the whimsical way city traffic rules change every time a new DCP takes charge—just to leave a mark. But beyond the political symbolism, is Bhu Bharati actually a meaningful upgrade or just cosmetic tinkering?
Let’s look beyond the rhetoric and dive into the facts.
The Dharani portal was launched by the previous BRS government in November 2020 with the ambition of becoming a one-stop solution for land registration and mutations. It was meant to streamline agricultural land transactions, eliminate middlemen, and bring transparency.
But in practice, Dharani left many farmers frustrated. With 33 application modules, it became a bureaucratic maze. Every small query cost ₹1,200, and the portal was riddled with complaints about inaccessibility and lack of human assistance.
The Congress government, seizing on this public discontent, decided to wipe the slate clean—or so it seemed. The new platform, initially named Bhumata, has now been officially launched as Bhu Bharati.
What’s Actually New?
- Simplification: 33 to 6 Modules
One of the headline reforms is the simplification of the user interface. Bhu Bharati reduces the number of modules from 33 to just six. According to Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy, this change aims to minimize confusion for farmers with limited technical literacy. It’s a usability improvement, not just a rebranding exercise.
- Real-Time Updates
Users now receive SMS notifications at every step of the application process. This is a small but impactful step toward transparency, allowing landowners to track their applications without having to chase officials.
- No More Hidden Records
One major criticism of Dharani was the so-called “hidden” option, which allowed sensitive land records to be concealed from public view. Bhu Bharati eliminates this loophole, making all records accessible to authorized users. This could be a game-changer in reducing fraudulent transfers and benami transactions.
- Return of the Pahani
The Congress government has revived the traditional Pahani records—a detailed format used since the 1950s—which had been watered down under Dharani. The updated version now includes 11 key columns, offering detailed data such as ownership, survey numbers, and government vs private land status.
Unlike Dharani, which was more of an administrative platform, Bhu Bharati is backed by a new legal framework—the Telangana Bhu Bharati Record of Rights in Land Act 2024. This Act introduces 19 new sections aimed at cleaning up decades of land chaos.
Key provisions include:
- Legal Ownership for Every Inch: The Act promises legal sanctity to every plot, including lands in Gram Kantam and Abadi areas which often lacked formal titles.
- Appeals System: Disputes can now be escalated to Revenue Divisional Officers and District Collectors, providing a fast-track alternative to long-drawn court battles.
- Dedicated Land Tribunals: Legal issues will be handled by special tribunals, with free legal aid available to marginalized farmers.
- Regularization of Sadabainama Deals: Pre-2014 informal land transactions can now be regularized—a move that could bring relief to thousands
Not quite. While the cynicism around bureaucratic rebranding is justified—especially when tech platforms are renamed like city roads—Bhu Bharati does go a step further than Dharani in several ways:
- It addresses user-friendliness, long a sticking point for farmers.
- It incorporates a legal framework for accountability.
- It plugs transparency loopholes that plagued the previous portal.
However, critics may rightly ask: Couldn’t the Congress government have fixed Dharani instead of discarding it altogether? After all, redoing digital infrastructure is costly and time-consuming.
But perhaps the Congress leadership, eager to differentiate itself from the BRS legacy, needed a clear symbolic break. Bhu Bharati is both that symbol and, if implemented sincerely, a step forward in the digital governance of land in Telangana.
The Bhu Bharati bill promises a streamlined, transparent, and legally sound land record system. But the proof, as always, will lie in execution. If the Congress government can follow through on the timelines, keep the process farmer-friendly, and resist the temptation to politicize land administration, it might just deliver the real reform that Dharani never did.
Until then, the citizens of Telangana will watch with cautious optimism—and hope that this isn’t just another detour on a road that leads nowhere.
