TIRUPATI: The century-old Athuku Badi Patta land dispute in Railway Kodur mandal, covering nearly 15,000 acres, is finally moving towards resolution.
Tirupati District Collector S Venkateswar has announced a six-month plan to settle the long-pending issue and provide legally binding pattas to farmers who have cultivated these lands for generations but were denied registration rights.
Following the integration of Railway Kodur into Tirupati district, the administration has prioritised this issue, similar to the earlier resolution of encroached house sites at Thathaiah Gunta Katta. The Collector stressed that handing over pattas will protect farmers from displacement, prevent unauthorised land grabbing, and enable them to access loans, subsidies, and inheritance rights.
To systematically address disputes across such a vast tract, the administration is implementing digital re-surveying and boundary mapping using drones and GPS, verification of old revenue records to distinguish forest poramboke from agricultural land, and data integration through Webland to issue secure QR-coded Pattadar Passbooks.
Fast-tracked approvals will be presented to the state cabinet, following the successful model used in the Settipalli land dispute.
Farmers will be required to submit identity proofs to claim pattas. The resolution process will unfold in phases: ground-level surveys (ongoing), public display of draft land lists within 30 days, resolution of overlapping claims in 2–3 months, and final distribution of pattas within six months.
This initiative is expected to end decades of uncertainty, secure farmers’ rights, and close one of the largest land disputes in Tirupati district’s history, marking a significant step in restoring confidence among long-suffering landholders.