The health of a state’s governance is often reflected not in its speeches, but in its records — land records, property registrations, mutation files, and title deeds. In Telangana today, that vital administrative backbone — the Revenue Department — appears to be in visible distress. What should have been a model of streamlined governance risks slipping into uncertainty, confusion, and demoralisation.
When A. Revanth Reddy assumed office, expectations were high that administrative systems would be refined, not unsettled. Instead, the abrupt decision to dismantle the Dharani portal — introduced during the tenure of K. Chandrashekar Rao — has left the department in a prolonged transition. While Dharani was not without controversy and faced legal scrutiny, scrapping a system without ensuring a stable, tested alternative has inevitably created operational confusion.
In my view, as a practicing politician, policy reversals are the prerogative of any new government. But governance demands continuity, clarity, and planning. And, certainly, Revenue administration cannot function in an experimental vacuum. Every delay in issuing pattadar passbooks, every ambiguity in land mutation, and every stalled registration translates into anxiety for ordinary citizens whose life savings are tied to land or housing.
What I gather from my sources is that the human cost behind the administrative fog. Across sub-registrar offices and mandal revenue offices, skeletal staffing has become the norm. Vacant posts remain unfilled. Promotions are stalled. Senior staff are burdened with additional charges. Junior employees are compelled to multitask beyond sanctioned responsibilities. The result is predictable: delays, fatigue, and growing public dissatisfaction — often unfairly directed at frontline staff who are themselves struggling within systemic constraints.
Several revenue personnel privately express anguish over what they perceive as punitive treatment for complying with court directives. In instances where courts have ordered the registration of certain documents that were earlier kept pending, officials who followed judicial directions reportedly faced adverse action — in some cases without formal departmental inquiry. If true, such steps risk undermining not just morale but also the rule-based framework that civil servants depend upon. Obeying a judicial order cannot become grounds for administrative punishment. Due process is not a privilege; it is a safeguard built into service rules.
The larger economic implications are equally concerning. Telangana’s real estate sector — once among the most buoyant in the country — has shown signs of slowdown. A dip in registrations directly affects state revenues through stamp duty and registration fees. Revenue staff form the operational bridge between economic activity and state exchequer inflows. If that bridge weakens, the fiscal impact is inevitable. Administrative paralysis is not merely a bureaucratic inconvenience; it is a financial liability.
A responsible government must recognise that the Revenue Department is not just another wing of the Secretariat. It is the custodian of property rights. It is the first point of contact for citizens seeking legal certainty over land — arguably their most valuable asset. In rural Telangana especially, land records are intertwined with livelihoods, credit access, and social security.
What, then, is the way forward?
In my view, first, clarity on the replacement or restructuring of the land records system is imperative. If Dharani had flaws, they must be rectified through transparent reform, not prolonged uncertainty. Second, immediate filling of vacancies and time-bound promotions would restore both efficiency and morale. Third, adherence to due process in disciplinary matters would reassure staff that they will not be made scapegoats for policy ambiguity.
Revenue personnel are not policymakers; they are implementers. Burdening them with the consequences of shifting political priorities only weakens governance. The current limbo benefits no one — not citizens, not employees, and certainly not the state’s finances.
Telangana built a reputation over the past decade for administrative innovation. That legacy must not be squandered through indecision. Strengthening the Revenue Department is not a partisan demand; it is a governance necessity. If property rights are the foundation of economic stability, then revenue administration is the steel framework holding that foundation together.
The government would do well to act — decisively, fairly, and swiftly — before temporary disarray hardens into institutional decline.
