Thousands of farmers who lost access to their lands or were denied registration due to procedural lapses under the Dharani portal are now pinning their hopes on the Bhu Bharati Act. With its promise of resolving 90 percent of land-related issues at the tahsildar level, the new mechanism offers hope that they will no longer need to approach RDOs or collectors, unlike in the past. Farmers are now actively participating in Bhu Bharati awareness meetings, seeing them as a path to long-awaited justice.
Many shared bitter experiences of running from pillar to post — even reaching out to the Chief Commissioner of Land Administration (CCLA) — to settle long-pending land disputes, only to end up losing both money and time. Officials clarified that under Bhu Bharati, farmers still retain the right to appeal to the CCLA if they are not satisfied with the orders passed by tahsildars, RDOs, or district collectors.
The Bhu Bharati Act offers a framework to resolve issues involving lands kept under Part B in Dharani, as well as lands held under Sada Binama transactions. Among those who lost hope is T. Dattu of Taroda (B) village in Bhoraj mandal. He has been struggling for years to register his Sadabinama land. "Twenty years ago, my father purchased 12.3 acres in Survey No. 12 of Foujpur Shivvar under a Sadabinama, but I could never get a patta for it through Dharani. I now hope that Bhu Bharati will finally help me secure legal ownership," he said.
He is not alone. Several farmers who had given up on obtaining pattas or correcting land records are now flocking to the Bhu Bharati awareness camps and submitting their applications to revenue officials. Many complain that their pattas record less land than what they actually own, while others say land was incorrectly added to or removed from their holdings. They believe that ground-level physical verification by surveyors under the new Act will address these anomalies.
With a mechanism that brings resolution closer to the village level, farmers see in Bhu Bharati a long-overdue opportunity to reclaim their rights. District Additional Collector Lakshmi Narayana emphasized that the newly introduced Bhu Bharati ROR Act by the Telangana State Government will play a crucial role in resolving land disputes promptly and ensuring ownership rights for farmers. Participating in an awareness seminar held at the Mandal Parishad Office in Itikyala Mandal on Tuesday, the Additional Collector addressed farmers and officials about the importance, features, and benefits of the Bhu Bharati Act – 2025.
He stated that the state government introduced this Act with the goal of eliminating land-related disputes and providing complete ownership rights to farmers. Tracing the evolution of land administration, he said it began during the Mughal period with land measurement and tax systems. He highlighted milestones such as the first land survey in 1923, the introduction of Pattadar Passbooks in 1971, the ROR Act in 1978, and the new amendments in 1989.
He pointed out that the Dharani portal, launched in 2020, was a significant step in land record digitization, but due to its shortcomings, the Bhu Bharati Act has been introduced in 2025 to further strengthen land rights, transparency, and security for landowners. The Act was officially launched on April 14, 2025, on the occasion of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar's Jayanti by the Chief Minister of Telangana.
Key features of the Bhu Bharati Act include the ability for farmers and citizens to apply for corrections in land records, survey map generation, regularization of informal agreements (Sada Bainamas), and recording of inheritance rights through the Bhu Bharati Portal. It offers quick access to services such as registration, mutation, name changes, and land nature conversions.
Under Section 8, legal documents such as civil court decrees, Lok Adalat rulings, revenue court orders, land grants, Inam ORC records, 38-E, and 13-B certifications can be uploaded and verified online. These applications will be reviewed and resolved by the RDO at the field level. A two-tier appeal system has been introduced, removing the need to approach civil courts. Decisions will now be made in a time-bound manner by Tahsildars, RDOs, and Collectors.
Lakshmi Narayana also mentioned that in the future, services like land maps in passbooks, Bhoodar cards, and free legal aid for land disputes will be extended to farmers. He added that the Bhu Bharati Act would ensure dispute resolution based on land value at RDO and District Collector levels in a phased manner.
From the 4,000 applications received under the Dharani system in the district, 3,000 have already been resolved, and only 1,000 remain pending, which are expected to be completed quickly under the new Act. He urged all farmers with land-related problems to visit their local Tahsildar offices instead of waiting and assured that village-level awareness camps will be conducted to expedite resolutions.
"This law is a valuable initiative to protect land rights and prevent future conflicts. Farmers must understand and utilize the provisions of this Act," he concluded. The event was attended by Itikyala Tahsildar Veera Bhadrappa, Market Yard Chairman Dodappa, Vice Chairman Kumar, MPDO Ajar Mohinuddin, farmers, and other stakeholders.
