HYDERABAD: Chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao is pressing ahead with his reform agenda in the revenue department by getting a unified Revenue Act drafted for Telangana on the lines of a similar Act Uttar Pradesh has enacted.
Towards this end, the state government is planning to abolish 124 (various) land and revenue Acts and bring in the unified Revenue Act.
The CM is believed to have asked government chief advisor Rajiv Sharma and chief secretary Somesh Kumar to give the final shape to the new Act after examining UP’s Revenue Act in consultation with district collectors and experts on land laws. KCR reportedly spoke about the new Revenue Act at Tuesday’s collectors’ conference held here. “Our effort is to take all the good practices implemented in other states and come up with a new Revenue Act,” a senior CMO official said.
Senior officials said the UP government brought a new revenue code in 2016 by merging 35 Acts. “Of the 124 Acts in Telangana, 27 Acts such as Hyderabad Tenancy and Agricultural Land Act of 1950, Hyderabad Asami Shiknis Act of 1354 Fasli, Telangana Atiyat Enquiries Act of 1952, Telangana Jagirdars Debt Settlement Act of 1952 and Splitting of Joint Pattas Act of 1965 are redundant and have no relevance now,” a senior official explained.
“Some Acts such as Telangana Record of Rights in Land and Pattadar Passbooks Act (ROR Act) and Telangana Assigned Lands (Prohibition of Transfer) Act require further amendments, which will now be incorporated in the unified Act,” the official said.
Telangana roped in land laws expert for suggestions
Experts said once the new Act is in place, every bit of land will be accounted for. “Every dispute relating to ownership by tribals, non-tribals, revenue or non-revenue land will be identified and conclusive titles issued,” an expert said.
The government roped in land laws expert, Nalsar University faculty M Sunil Kumar, to make recommendations on various land and revenue Acts. “I had made four suggestions, including having a single law by repealing redundant and obsolete laws. On an average, there are100 to150 Acts pertaining to land,” Sunil told TOI.
Secondly, he said the government would have to adopt the Title Guarantee Act to put an end to land disputes. He highlighted the fact that 62% of cases revolve around land disputes only. “Thirdly, the government should go for a comprehensive land survey and evolve a dispute resolution system like setting up land tribunal on the lines of Bihar in every district,” he said.
Sunil said the Centre had sent a model Act on title guarantee to all the states a few years ago. But senior officials in Telangana said Title Guarantee Act could not be adopted in its present form and states which took to the Act did not become zero-land dispute states. They said though KCR talked about Title Guarantee Act, the government has had second thoughts on it as it may lead to further complications.
Another land laws expert said thanks to conclusive titling, maintenance of property recordswouldceasetobe merely a tool for governance and revenue generation but added to agenda of citizen services.
A similar effort to have unified Revenue Act was made by TDP government in 1999 in unified AP but presidential assent was not accorded to resolution.
Towards this end, the state government is planning to abolish 124 (various) land and revenue Acts and bring in the unified Revenue Act.
The CM is believed to have asked government chief advisor Rajiv Sharma and chief secretary Somesh Kumar to give the final shape to the new Act after examining UP’s Revenue Act in consultation with district collectors and experts on land laws. KCR reportedly spoke about the new Revenue Act at Tuesday’s collectors’ conference held here. “Our effort is to take all the good practices implemented in other states and come up with a new Revenue Act,” a senior CMO official said.
Senior officials said the UP government brought a new revenue code in 2016 by merging 35 Acts. “Of the 124 Acts in Telangana, 27 Acts such as Hyderabad Tenancy and Agricultural Land Act of 1950, Hyderabad Asami Shiknis Act of 1354 Fasli, Telangana Atiyat Enquiries Act of 1952, Telangana Jagirdars Debt Settlement Act of 1952 and Splitting of Joint Pattas Act of 1965 are redundant and have no relevance now,” a senior official explained.
“Some Acts such as Telangana Record of Rights in Land and Pattadar Passbooks Act (ROR Act) and Telangana Assigned Lands (Prohibition of Transfer) Act require further amendments, which will now be incorporated in the unified Act,” the official said.
Telangana roped in land laws expert for suggestions
Experts said once the new Act is in place, every bit of land will be accounted for. “Every dispute relating to ownership by tribals, non-tribals, revenue or non-revenue land will be identified and conclusive titles issued,” an expert said.
The government roped in land laws expert, Nalsar University faculty M Sunil Kumar, to make recommendations on various land and revenue Acts. “I had made four suggestions, including having a single law by repealing redundant and obsolete laws. On an average, there are100 to150 Acts pertaining to land,” Sunil told TOI.
Secondly, he said the government would have to adopt the Title Guarantee Act to put an end to land disputes. He highlighted the fact that 62% of cases revolve around land disputes only. “Thirdly, the government should go for a comprehensive land survey and evolve a dispute resolution system like setting up land tribunal on the lines of Bihar in every district,” he said.
Sunil said the Centre had sent a model Act on title guarantee to all the states a few years ago. But senior officials in Telangana said Title Guarantee Act could not be adopted in its present form and states which took to the Act did not become zero-land dispute states. They said though KCR talked about Title Guarantee Act, the government has had second thoughts on it as it may lead to further complications.
Another land laws expert said thanks to conclusive titling, maintenance of property recordswouldceasetobe merely a tool for governance and revenue generation but added to agenda of citizen services.
A similar effort to have unified Revenue Act was made by TDP government in 1999 in unified AP but presidential assent was not accorded to resolution.
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