Key Points

Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy on Tuesday said that the Bhu Bharati Act has opened the way for resolving the long-pending Sada Bainama applications

He said that the High Court order will do justice to lakhs of poor families.

The applications had been struggling to obtain ownership rights for the past five years due to the restrictions imposed under the Dharani Act brought by the previous BRS government. These applications relate to ownership of about 10 lakh acres of land.

A Sada Bainama refers to a sale agreement on white paper without registration. Such land transactions are common in rural areas of Telangana.

Slamming the previous BRS government for what he called betraying people on the issue of Sada Bainama, Srinivasa Reddy said the Bhu Bharati Act brought by the Congress government is designed to deal with these applications.

He alleged that the previous government deceived the poor by collecting applications but failing to provide a legal route for their resolution under the Record of Rights (ROR) Act 2020.

The revenue minister assured that the applications would be cleared at the earliest. Stating that the groundwork has already been completed, he said the government would deliver justice without any delay.

Terming the Dharani Portal introduced by the BRS government as illegal, Srinivasa Reddy said Dharani was scrapped as promised during elections. He said that after conducting studies in 18 States, the government framed the Bhu Bharati Act-2025, which has now become a role model in addressing land-related issues.

The High Court pronounced its order on the petitions filed by some of the applicants. As per the court order, applications submitted up to November 10, 2020, can be considered for regularisation under the Bhu Bharati Act.

The previous government had accepted applications for the regularisation of land purchased through Sada Bainama before June 2, 2014, excluding urban areas. During the first phase, about 12.64 lakh applications were received, of which nearly 6 lakh applicants were given pattadar passbooks.

Following appeals from farmers, the BRS government gave another opportunity for Sada Bainama regularisation. Nearly 9 lakh applications were received, but they were not resolved due to the complications which arose after the government had brought the new Record of Rights Act, 2020, also known as the Dharani Act.

- IANS