It’s deeply ironic that a web portal named Dharani, meaning Earth, which was launched by the previous BRS government in Telangana to digitise land records and reduce corruption, disputes and red tape, has ended up achieving the exact opposite. Though the present Congress dispensation replaced it with its own initiative, Bhu Bharati, after assuming power in late 2023, the magnitude of corruption the Dharani probe is continuing to reveal is mind-boggling.
Take the case of Sunkari Narahari Rao, a deputy director in charge of survey, settlement and land records who was recently arrested by the anti-corruption bureau. His assets are said to be worth a staggering ₹100-200 crore at current rates. A tahsildar is alleged to have transferred the titles for about 400 acres without the knowledge of the rightful owners. All this is just the tip of the iceberg. A forensic audit of Dharani transactions conducted earlier by the Kerala Security Audit and Assurance Centre found around 22,000 cases of fraud covering 10,000 acres, apart from several structural loopholes in the portal. Following this, over 20 middlemen and staffers were detained. But they could not have pulled off the large-scale fraud without the blessings of senior officials.
Bhu Bharati, too, runs on the same architecture. The state government has roped in surveyors to map land parcels and plans to have manual records alongside the revamped portal being designed by the National Informatics Centre. A nine-member panel tasked with gathering evidence of irregularities is likely to submit its report in the next few days.
The issue is indeed complex, which is why the investigation has already taken over two years. But the cases must be expedited now and the big fish, if identified, must be prosecuted. The government should consider forming a special investigation team and fast-track courts to dispose of the corruption cases at the earliest. The loophole of suspended officers making an eventual comeback to similar roles must be plugged.
The Dharani cases are exceptionally cruel because those who lost land are still doing the rounds of government offices to get their ownership recognised. A fool-proof system that does not harass the innocent in the name of modernisation is the need of the hour. And it needs to be instituted without delay.