Hyderabad: Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy said the Telangana land resurvey was the only way to permanently resolve long-standing land disputes. He said the government had already addressed some land-related problems under Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy’s direction. It would soon take up several other pending issues, he added.
The minister said the government was approaching land issues from the public’s perspective. He contrasted this approach with that of the previous government. Ponguleti spoke to reporters in Wanaparthy on Monday after reviewing revenue, registration and housing issues across the erstwhile Mahabubnagar district. Ministers Jupally Krishna Rao and Vakiti Srihari joined him at the media conference.
Telangana land resurvey to begin in selected villages
Ponguleti said the government had selected 70 revenue villages for the first phase of the survey. It would also survey about 413 revenue villages where maps were unavailable. The Telangana land resurvey would cover those villages in phases, he said.
Under the Bhu Bharati Act, every land parcel would receive a unique identification, according to the minister. Records would also include a map with geo-coordinates and an LPM number.
He said the government aimed to issue Bhudhaar cards as outlined under the Bhu Bharati system. The survey would also address difficulties that the government attributed to the earlier Dharani system.
The government had procured modern equipment to accelerate surveys, Ponguleti said. It purchased rovers during the first phase and was acquiring additional units in the second phase. These rovers would be distributed among districts according to requirements. In addition, the government had issued licences to thousands of surveyors to speed up fieldwork.
Ponguleti asked surveyors to participate in the programme and focus on providing lasting benefits to farmers. He also urged them to disregard political campaigns surrounding the exercise.
The minister said officials had been asked to identify families cultivating land for decades without proper titles. Such families faced financial difficulties because of title-related problems, he said. Officials were directed to resolve eligible cases quickly under the applicable rules.
Telangana land resurvey to update records and maps
Ponguleti said a comprehensive survey could address several long-standing rural land issues. These included sada bainama cases, boundary disputes and errors in old records. The exercise would also record details of abadi properties. He said Bhu Bharati aimed to modernise records and maps according to public requirements.
In some villages, residential plots and abadi properties lacked clear maps showing their exact extent, he said. The new survey would record their area and boundaries on maps. The Bhu Bharati Act provided for separate records covering abadi and non-agricultural lands, according to the minister. It also provided for mapping property corners using geo-coordinates.
Ponguleti said the government was also working to provide houses to eligible poor families. He said there would be no room for political considerations in the Indiramma housing programme. Of the 4.50 lakh houses sanctioned in the first phase, more than two lakh had been completed, he said. The remaining houses would be completed according to targets.
He said the second phase would also give priority to unfinished houses belonging to poor families. The minister said the government’s stated objective was to make Telangana a state without families living in huts.
He asked eligible families who missed the second phase not to worry. He said the government planned further phases despite financial challenges. According to Ponguleti, the third and fourth phases would seek to provide houses to every eligible poor family.