The State Government has firmed up its resolve to reform the revenue administration enabling it to issue conclusive titles to land owners.

Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao has asserted that the government had decided to amend/repeal revenue legislations in its efforts to usher in a transparent and hassle free issuance of conclusive title deeds which would put an end to the problems faced by the people on account of land transactions forever.

“No government took the courage to reform the revenue administration. But there has to be a beginning and the two legislations introduced in the Assembly are aimed at overhauling the entire system to make it people-friendly, especially for farmers and poor,” he said.

The Chief Minister was speaking in reply to more than six hour debate on the passage of two new legislations envisaging the overhaul of the revenue administration to bring transparency and corruption free land transactions. The State Legislative Assembly passed two Bills – The Telangana Rights in Land and Pattadar Passbooks Act, 2020 and The Telangana Abolition of the Posts of Village Revenue Officers Act 2020 – on Friday.

Two other Bills – The Telangana Municipal Laws (Amendment) Act, 2020 and The Telangana Panchayat Raj (Amendment) Act, 2020 – supplementing the amended revenue legislations were also passed by the Assembly. The Chief Minister expressed concern that there were several loopholes in the existing system that gave scope for corruption and harassment of poor. “These are systems with multiple knots leading to disputes. The ruling government remaining a mute spectator to the system is a crime and hence, my government took the decision to reform the entire system,” he said.

Mr. Rao said there were close to 170 Acts governing the Revenue sector of which several had been repealed to suit the State’s convenience and 87 Acts covering various aspects of revenue administration were still in operation. “Some of these Acts would be repealed in course of time, but the government is not in a hurry to repeal them,” he said.

Reacting to the concerns expressed by members over the fate of the assignment lands, the Chief Minister said the assignment of lands was made in an “unscientific” manner in the past. “There were several lapses. For instance, certificates of assignment lands were issued for more than 9,000 acres in a village in Suryapet district when the actual extent of the lands was only 1,500 acres. There are also instances where villages were altogether omitted from the records,” he said without making a specific mention of the parties during whose tenure the certificates were issued.

He said assignment of lands had envisioned specific purpose, generating economic activity to the assignees. But the issue turned out to be “political assignment” as political parties continued to dole to largesse by issuing certificates without showing the lands to the assignees. “All these lapses need to be rectified step by step and the government is moving in that direction,” he said.

Mr. Rao, however, said the government took enough care to ensure that interests of Dalits and weaker sections who were in possession of the assignment lands as well as the tribes who were cultivating lands given under the ROFR Act would be protected. “A special column will be created in the land administration portal Dharani for the lands classified under the ROFR Act,” he said.

He was firm that the government was committed to protect the interests of the land owners as it was a policy of the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samiti and incorporation of the enjoyment column in the Pattadar passbooks was leading to several disputes. “We went to the elections on this issue and we got the mandate of the people,” he said adding disputes like compensation to tenants should be settled between the land owner and the tenant.