HYDERABAD: A high-level inquiry committee probing irregularities in the Dharani land records portal — now renamed Bhu Bharati — has found that 1,109 of 4,858 transactions were illegal, resulting in a revenue loss of about Rs 3.95 crore to the state exchequer, Revenue and Housing Minister Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy said on Saturday.
The audit, carried out with the assistance of a Central government-affiliated agency in Siddipet and Sircilla districts, indicated large-scale misuse of government land during the previous regime, he said.
“The government will not spare anyone who exploited loopholes in the system to transfer lands and mint money,” he asserted.
Addressing a review meeting at the state Secretariat, he said that attempts were made to misuse technical glitches in the portal and registration challans to illegally syphon off public money.
The meeting was attended by Principal Secretary (Land Revenue) Lokesh Kumar DS, Inspector General of Stamps and Registration Rajiv Gandhi Hanumanthu, Intelligence Additional Director General Vijay Kumar, CMRO Project Director Makarandu Manda and other officials.
In a statement later, Srinivasa Reddy said a forensic audit, currently being conducted as a pilot project, had revealed multiple irregularities.
“The preliminary forensic report has confirmed several corrupt practices. After examining the findings, the government has decided to extend the forensic audit to the remaining 31 districts,” the minister said.
During the meeting, the minister sought details on the nature of irregularities, the role of individuals involved, whether there was any organised network operating behind the scenes, and the possible involvement of Revenue officials. He directed the committee to conduct a more in-depth investigation and submit a comprehensive final report with specific recommendations.
Srinivasa Reddy said that the previous BRS government rolled out the Dharani portal without foresight and with serious structural flaws, and helped wrongdoers commit irregularities. He noted that the criminal cases were registered against 48 persons across 35 mandals in nine districts.
He also criticised opposition leaders for making “unsubstantiated claims” of corruption running into thousands of crores without evidence.
Later in the day, interacting with reporters, he responded to BRS working president KT Rama Rao’s indignation over the phone-tapping case.
He said that if former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao falls within the ambit of the telephone tapping case, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) would summon him as well. He clarified that his son attended the World Economic Forum (WEF) in his capacity as a businessman and had nothing to do with the state government.
The minister also made it clear that former Union minister and actor K Chiranjeevi attended the WEF in his personal capacity.