Ponguleti Warns Strict Action Against Officials Harassing Farmers With Land-Related Grievances

Adilabad:Revenue minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy warned that strict action would be taken if any official was found to be harassing farmers who approached them on land-related grievances. The provision had been included in the Bhu Bharati Act, he said. The law had been framed to ensure complete protection for eligible citizens, and the responsibility for its implementation lay with the officials.

On Tuesday, the minister participated in a Bhu Bharati awareness programmes held in the districts of Mancherial and Peddapalli.

He said that many public representatives and officials come from farming families, and they should work sincerely to alleviate farmers’ problems. Revenue officials should work in a way that enhances the reputation of the revenue department by effectively resolving land issues, he said.

Srinivas Reddy said that the Bhu Bharati Act had been introduced to resolve long-standing land issues in the state that have remained unresolved for over a decade during previous BRS regime.

He stated that just like every individual has an Aadhaar card, every farmer will be given a Bhudhaar card, and a unique Bhudhaar number will be issued. Efforts are being made to resolve issues related to Lavani Patta and Inam lands and lands illegally occupied from the poor will be reclaimed and returned to the rightful poor beneficiaries.

Srinvas Reddy said that in order to address the problems people are facing due to the Dharani portal brought during BRS regime, revenue officials toured 18 states across the country, studied land issues and thoroughly reviewed revenue laws. Based on their findings, the Bhu Bharati Act, including the new Record of Rights (RoR), was introduced.

He said that after the Bhu Bharati Bill was passed in the Assembly, public feedback was collected, minor errors corrected, and the government officially launched the Bhu Bharti Act on April 14, birth anniversary of the Constitution architect Dr B.R. Ambedkar.

As part of the initial phase, four mandals in four districts were selected as pilot mandals. In the next phase, pilot mandals were identified in the remaining 28 districts. He stated that steps are being taken to permanently resolve the issues in the initially selected four pilot mandals by June 2.

In this process, in Bheemaram mandal, which was selected as a pilot mandal in the district, about 2,200 applications were received, of which approximately 1,100 are related to sada bainama (unregistered land sale agreements). He mentioned that after the court holidays, these issues will be resolved and the sada bainama applications will be completed.

He noted that due to the Dharani system introduced in 2020, people faced several difficulties with sada bainamas and had to approach the courts. The Bhu Bhaarti Act aims to address and resolve such issues.

The government is conducting joint surveys across departments to resolve problems related to government lands, revenue lands, and forest lands and is working toward permanent solutions. The minister stated that the government supports the poor and that eligible land cultivators on government land will be identified.

He mentioned that Dharani system lacked the scope to resolve some issues, but the Bhu Bharati Act allowed problems to be addressed at the levels of the MRO, RDO, district collector and CCLA (Chief Commissioner of Land Administration). If there is dissatisfaction with the resolution at a lower level, appeals can be made to higher levels.

In the coming days, land registrations will be done along with boundary maps and survey maps, which will also be included in the pattadar passbooks, Srinivas Reddy said. "Starting June 2, tahsildar-level officials will visit mandals to address village-level land issues, so people will not have to go around government offices," he said.