4 days ago
Bhu Bharati Act is a landmark legislation to find lasting solution to land disputes: Bhatti Vikramarka
Describing Bhu Bharati as a historic and landmark legislation in Indian history, Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka has said it aims to survey farmers' lands, clearly identify boundaries and address all land ownership disputes.
He was speaking after launching the Bhu Bharati Survey Pilot Project in Mulugumadu village of Yerrupalem mandal of Khammam district on Tuesday.
The ambitious project was launched in the presence of Minister for Agriculture Tummala Nageswara Rao and Minister for Revenue Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy amid a large gathering of villagers from various parts of Yerrupalem mandal. A demonstration of drone-aided survey and a digital survey using the Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) was held on the occasion to highlight the efficacy of the modern land-surveying equipment to identify land boundaries with accurate precision, officials said.
Addressing the gathering on the occasion, Mr. Vikramarka said the Dharani portal introduced by the previous Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government trampled on farmers' rights.
'It essentially eliminated farmers from their own lands. The BRS leaders manipulated the system by allocating lands to their preferred individuals and brought in Dharani in such a way that no corrections or revisions could be made,' he said, pointing out that in many instances passbooks were issued for 17 acres where only 10 acres existed. 'We have kept our pre-poll promise to throw the Dharani portal into the Bay of Bengal and brought in a well thought out Bhu Bharati Act to find a permanent solution to the land disputes,' he asserted.
He added that the successive Congress governments distributed 26 lakh acres to the poor under land reform laws in the past. But the previous BRS government listed these lands under Part B of Dharani without any investigation or verification.
'We will review all those assigned lands, and issue rightful land titles to eligible beneficiaries. For the landless poor, we are restarting the Assigned Committees under the leadership of MLAs through the Bhu Bharati law to allocate agricultural land and housing plots,' Mr. Vikramarka added.
Explaining the salient features of the Bhu Bharati Act, he said: 'The new law enables survey of cultivated lands as well. It mandates that annual revenue conferences be conducted and allows for public disclosure in Gram Sabhas about land sales and changes in land records.' He asserted that Bhu Bharati Act will uphold and formalize the legal rights of farmers over their land.
Mr. Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy said the Bhu Bharati legislation was enacted after extensive consultation with all stakeholders and in-depth study in various States. It replaced the flawed Dharani that undermined the interests of farmers, he said, adding that the people's government led by Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy took up landmark initiatives to improve land record management and address land ownership disputes in a transparent and decentralized manner.
