The portal is backed by the Telangana Bhu Bharati (Record of Rights in Land) Act, 2024, claimed as a landmark law aimed at modernising land governance, improving transparency, and protecting landowners' rights, especially those from marginalised communities.
Published Apr 13, 2025 | 11:16 AM ⚊ Updated Apr 13, 2025 | 11:16 AM
Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy.
Synopsis: The Telangana government will launch the Bhu Bharati portal on 14 April. It is designed to simplify access to land records, resolve disputes efficiently, and ease transactions.
In a significant move to usher in reforms in land administration, the Telangana government will launch the Bhu Bharati portal on Monday, 14 April, coinciding with Dr BR Ambedkar’s birth anniversary.
The portal is designed to simplify access to land records, resolve disputes efficiently and ease transactions, benefiting farmers and citizens alike.
Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy reviewed the launch preparations on Saturday, 12 April, at his residence in Hyderabad. The rollout will begin with pilot implementation in three mandals, where collectors will conduct awareness sessions to help the public navigate the new system. The chief minister instructed officials to promptly address queries raised during these sessions.
Similar awareness programmes will be held in every mandal under the supervision of district collectors. The chief minister underscored the need for the portal to remain user-friendly.
The portal is backed by the Telangana Bhu Bharati (Record of Rights in Land) Act, 2024, claimed as a landmark law aimed at modernising land governance, improving transparency, and protecting landowners’ rights, especially those from marginalised communities. It replaces the Telangana Rights in Land and Pattadar Passbooks Act, 2020, which introduced the controversial Dharani portal.
The Dharani system had drawn widespread criticism for unresolved disputes, lack of transparency, and limited access to records, becoming a key election issue. Revanth Reddy, then in Opposition, had promised to scrap it — a pledge that garnered strong public support — and he is now implementing it.
Bhu Bharati addresses the concerns with a streamlined design, reducing modules from 33 to just six. It provides real-time mobile updates, eliminates hidden records, and assigns each land parcel a unique Bhu Bharati Number, similar to an Aadhaar, for fraud prevention and boundary clarity. Detailed Pahani records with 11 data fields, including ownership and land type, are being reinstated.
The Act introduces a multi-tiered grievance redressal system involving Tahsildars, Revenue Divisional Officers (RDOs), and Collectors, with plans for land tribunals to reduce reliance on courts. Village revenue officers will enhance on-ground support, while Tahsildars are empowered to instantly update records post-registration.
Additional reforms include: Mandatory survey maps in sale deeds to prevent encroachments, simplified access to land documents for loan and subsidy applications, and resolution of ownership for over 18 lakh acres of disputed land.
The bill, introduced by Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy on 18 December 2024 in the Telangana Legislative Assembly, was passed on 20 December, received the Governor’s assent on 3 January 2025, and was published in the gazette on 20 January.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil.)
