HYDERABAD: The government-appointed expert committee, formed to look into the issues related to Dharani and give suggestions on reforms in the integrated land records management system, has found significant lapses in the management of the portal.
The committee reportedly found that thousands of acres of forest lands have been mismanaged or wrongly categorised. Sources suggest that a whopping five to six lakh acres of land may have been inaccurately categorised or converted within the system.
The authorities, however, are of the opinion that a comprehensive inquiry is needed to ascertain the facts. Recently, the committee, comprising Congress leader Kodanda Reddy, retired IAS officer Raymond Peter and various domain experts, held a meeting with the agriculture and forest officials and delved deep into the matter.
During the meeting, it was revealed that certain forest land parcels, initially marked as assigned lands, were allegedly converted or alienated through the Dharani portal without the knowledge of authorities.
The committee is set to address these pressing concerns by including recommendations in its upcoming interim report. It is likely to recommend the government to initiate necessary actions.
Authorities have also raised red flags, indicating that some landholders continue to receive monetary benefits such as input subsidies and Rythu Bandhu amounts even after their lands have been converted for infrastructure purposes such as road construction and building projects.
In a recent press conference, the committee emphasised that the Dharani portal lacks a proper transaction recording system. Furthermore, it also identified a critical deficiency in the portal’s grievance redressal mechanism, posing challenges to effective oversight and dispute resolution.
The state government appointed the expert committee for a comprehensive review and overhaul of the Dharani portal to ensure transparency, accuracy and efficiency in land records management.
The committee is set to hold several other meetings with other stakeholders such as Revenue, Registration and Stamps, Agriculture, Forest departments which deal with the land administration.
The panel will also be meeting the ground level staff to learn the practical problems before submitting its comprehensive report.
‘Detailed inquiry must to ascertain the facts’
The authorities, however, are of the opinion that a comprehensive inquiry is needed to ascertain the facts. During a recent meeting, the committee held a meeting with the agriculture and forest departments and delved deep into the matter.