Telangana new revenue law as an example for the country
, implementation in Tirumalagiri mandals, experimental implementation
in villages, revitalization of revenue mechanism in villages,
revision of land and property value in scientific methods,
Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy in an interview to ‘Eenadu’
today Hyderabad
If there is good in what the previous government did, we will accept it. We will reject it if it causes harm to the people. We are making changes due to the fact that there has been damage due to Dharani. Just as the central government made the people and the economy insecure and anxious with demonetisation… Dharani is the same.
“‘Dharani’ was brought during the previous government for the benefit of a few. Due to this, the common farmers and the poor faced many difficulties. Even after running around the authorities, it was of no use. On the other hand, they used Dharani to build government lands for those who wanted them. It has already been found in the investigation that 2,800 to 3,100 acres of land has been encroached on,” said Revenue, Housing and Information Minister Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy. Taking into consideration the problems of the people, the new law was initiated after a wide discussion with all the communities. He said in an interview to ‘Eenadu’ that it will be a role model for the country. As a part of this, Dharani will be thoroughly cleansed.
What are the defects in Dharani? Why did your government decide to replace it with a new law?
Any new law is first implemented on a trial basis. But, Dharani is not like that. All operations were frozen for 90 to 100 days at a time. The registration system has not been in the groove for six months. Automatic mutation has become an illusion.
- Both the then CM and CS said that Dharani was a role model for the world. The organization that managed this website in our state also did it in Odisha and it was removed. The then government officials pledged 1.56 crore acres of land in the hands of a foreign company. They set up a secret locker to convert government places to their hideouts.
- In a survey no. ten acres, even if one partner complained, the whole went into the prohibited list. In any survey number… government, devadaya, waqf properties even if they are of one plot area… are put in the prohibited list. If there is a complaint against one number, the whole thing is stopped.
- Previously, there were 36 columns in Pahani, but only one in Dharani. As a result, many lands went into litigation. GPAs and AGPAs are given by those who are abroad. There is no option to execute it.
- Grievances module is disorganized. Even the poor have to pay Rs.1,200 for each application. The problem which should be written in one column by mistake in the application will be accepted even if it is written in another column. But, Arnella is getting rejected later. The reason is not given. Have to apply again and wait for another round.
After taking charge as the revenue minister, what errors did Dharani find in practice?
Collector Ranga Reddy said that if I conduct a review in the first week as a minister… 98 applications have been approved without his involvement. When asked for their files, he said that once approved, he could not see them. If you ask why, it is dangerous if everyone knows the names of the owners of private lands and properties. It is clear that this is not possible and if all the details are available to everyone then the mistakes can be rectified. People are also aware of what is happening in relation to their lands.
They said that there has been alienation of government lands, an investigation will be conducted and action will be taken. Has anything happened so far?
At that time, an attempt was made to reclaim a few hundred acres. Officials’ review revealed that 2,800 to 3,100 acres of government land has been converted. Put them in the banned list and stop them. An investigation is underway. Actions will be taken against those responsible. 58, 59 jivas were given to give the government lands under the control of the poor to them at the registration value. Revenue officials of neighboring mandals were called to investigate these applications. In some places there is nothing but Illo and Sheddo were reported and they changed their name. There have been countless irregularities. We found 32 such acres in Rangareddy district alone. The value of these is up to Rs.2800 crores. Puppalaguda and Khajaguda were also held. In one place nine acres were done like this. Not exceeding a thousand yards… 999, 990.5, 992 yards. Ordered to take action on th
Aren’t most of the claims for revision of damages against Dharani still pending?
Even when we came to power, 2.45 lakh applications were pending. We have solved 1.25 lakhs of them. The remaining 1.20 lakh and 1.15 lakh applications received during the Lok Sabha elections are pending. All this will be resolved in another 15 days. What is acceptable is done… what is not possible is rejected and reasons are given.
Before the new revenue law is brought in 2020, the common names will be resolved and they are asked to apply. 2.2 lakh applications were received within five or six days. 7 lakhs have been added as the deadline has been extended by a week. Everything is pending. When the applicants went to the court, the court concluded that there is no provision about common names in the new law.
Will the new revenue law brought by you save people from this trouble?
Our intention is to correct the errors in Dharani. Telangana Revenue Act will be a role model for the country. We made a committee with experts and conducted a study. It includes retired IAS officers, legal experts, revenue officers and leaders of farmers’ associations. A long study was made with various communities and the law was formulated. It has been released for public consultation. This law will be implemented experimentally in Yacharam of Rangareddy district and Tirumalagiri mandal of Nalgonda district first.
We are thinking of purging the Dharani to have 13 to 16 columns. We will hand over the website to a private company. Telangana IT Department will be the partner of whoever does this work.
It is said that there is an idea to re-appoint the revenue mechanism in the villages… Is it true?
There are 10,954 revenue villages in Telangana. There were 23,254 VRAs and VROs. Why did the then Chief Minister get angry with them but they destroyed the entire system. As a result, there was no one to take care of the revenue system and lands in the villages. That is why it is our government’s intention to set up a system for every revenue village. CM Revanth Reddy has already discussed this. We will try to select through a system if the former staff are eligible.
They are saying that the system of registrations is not scientific and they have launched a purge, what changes are going to be made?
We have initiated the process of rectifying the loopholes in the Stamps and Registration Department. We have shaken all the officers who have been rooted in this department for years. We will adjust the land values to the open market prices in a scientific manner. The authorities gave a report. A third party agency has also been appointed. We are going to decide the registration prices and the value of the land after examining the report given by this organization and the report given to the authorities.
Lands and properties are registered by some at more than the value fixed by the government (closer to the open market prices). If the fixed price is Rs.1 lakh, the open market value will be Rs.2.5 lakh. They bring more revenue to the government. The idea is to give 2, 2.5 percent discount to those who do this honestly. The government will take a decision soon.
Earlier there were MMARO, RDO, JC and Collector courts in the state. If their land issue was not resolved in these, the victims would go to the District Court and the High Court. If you want to remove this appeal system in Dharani, you can go to court. People believed and blessed us to connect Dharani to the Bay of Bengal after we came to power, noticing the difficulties faced by the po
