In a major reform initiative that aims to overhaul the age-old revenue and land administration system, including registration of properties across Telangana, CM K Chandrashekar Rao on Wednesday introduced two Bills in the state Assembly. The Telangana Abolition of the Posts of Village Revenue Officers Bill and The Telangana Rights in Land and Pattadar Passbooks Bill, which were unanimously adopted by the Assembly on Friday, propose to fully digitise the land documentation process so as to crush the hydra of corruption.
On the chopping block are the decades-old Village Revenue Office and Village Revenue Assistant posts, which is where graft begins at the grassroots level. Among the proposals are a scientific survey of every inch of land with geographical coordinates and doing all works related to land online through a portal called Dharani, including sale/purchase transactions.
The current system of getting land details entered into pattadar passbooks, changing land use, registration of properties, etc., are a huge hassle as they involve a lot of running around and payment of speed money, leading to frustration. Instances of farmers going to the extent of committing suicide due to harassment by revenue officials keep cropping up intermittently. Just a few weeks ago, a revenue officer was caught red-handed by Anti-Corruption Bureau officials while accepting over Rs 1 crore as bribe. No wonder, many surveys have found revenue to be the most corrupt department in the state.
To address the problem, the new Bills propose to divest all revenue officials of their discretionary powers. They would, for instance, have no say in certifying a mutation since it would be done automatically during online sale/purchase transactions. The whole idea is to offer full information on land at the click of a mouse to its owners. Since digitised documents like Aadhaar carry the stamp of authenticity, they need not be validated by any officer.
By introducing the landmark legislations, KCR has fulfilled his promise on land reforms made in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections in 2019. However, corrupt babus could look for workarounds after the new system is in place so as to keep lining their pockets. Therein lies the challenge for KCR to make the new plan work.