Telangana sets in motion a major reform by operationalising Bhu Bharati portal in five mandals

The Telangana Government has set in motion a major reform in the land administration with the launch of operations of integrated Bhu Bharati portal on a pilot basis in five mandals.

The Government, for the first time in the country, is including maps of the lands in the passbooks once the transaction is completed. Maps are being incorporated in the passbook in line with the provisions contained in the Telangana Bhu Bharati (Record of Rights in Land) Act 2025. Section 5 of the Act makes it mandatory to submit survey/sub division map as prescribed along with the applications. The same provision is reflected in other sections (Section 7, 8 and 10) of the Act, which is being implemented initially based on transactions like mutation, inheritance. This will be extended to all other modes of transaction in future. “It shall be compulsory, from the date as may be prescribed, to submit survey/sub-division map along with the application,” Section 7 of the Bhu Bharati Act says.

The system, according to officials, is intended at avoiding mismatch between the holding mentioned in the passbook and that in the actual possession termed as “Vivat Kabja” in local parlance. Incorporation of map will ensure that there is no scope for double registration of land parcels and the land on which transaction takes place will get a unique identification number, termed as Bhudhaar locally. The ULPIN, Unique Land Parcel Identification Number as the Central Government calls it, will ensure that the landowner can check the boundaries of his lands from time to time by just logging on to the Revenue department’s website.

“The same map will also be updated in the Record of Rights Act as and when the transaction takes place,” land laws expert M. Sunil Kumar, who was part of the core team that designed the Telangana Bhu Bharati Act replacing the Act of the previous BRS Government, told The Hindu. The State Government had adopted the Karnataka model where incorporation of map before registration was successfully being implemented over the past few years bringing down the scope for litigations.

While maps will form part of the all transactions in future, land owners who wish to get Bhudhaar numbers for their parcels can apply for the same with the department. The process, which hitherto was cumbersome, had been reformed with the introduction of land licensed surveyors and rovers for accurate measurement of lands.

Another benefit from incorporation of maps in land transactions is the ‘incremental survey’ that will take place of the agricultural lands in the villages concerned. Though the Record of Rights Act of 1948 made it mandatory for including the sub-division of the land parcel as and when a transaction takes place, completion of resurvey of the entire lands had become an impediment in its implementation. Incorporation of maps in the passbooks will ensure that the survey part of the land is completed to that extent during the transaction and ensure that entire village will be resurveyed over a period of time.