All land issues to be resolved by August 15: Ponguleti

Hyderabad: Revenue Land Survey Telangana, Revenue Meetings, Bhu Bharati Act, Farmer Land Issues, Naksha Villages, Ponguleti Srinivasa ReddyMinister Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy on Sunday instructed officials to resolve all land related applications submitted by farmers during revenue meetings within the stipulated timeframe.

The Minister highlighted that revenue meetings, aimed at resolving land issues, have been underway in all mandals across the state, excluding Hyderabad district, since June 3. To date, these meetings have been held in 7,578 villages across 561 mandals, receiving a substantial 4.61 lakh applications. He noted that these meetings are scheduled to continue until June 20. Mr Reddy directed officials to thoroughly examine the received applications and to resolve them as swiftly as possible, with a humanitarian perspective. He chaired a review meeting with officials on Sunday to oversee the conduct of these revenue gatherings.

The Minister stated that the ‘Indiramma government’ has set an ambitious target of resolving all land issues by August 15, urging the government machinery to work in alignment with this goal. He remarked that over the past decade, farmers have faced considerable difficulties with land issues. Following the implementation of the Dharani Act, farmers found themselves entangled in land problems even without their direct involvement. The revenue machinery, intended to resolve these issues, had become like “ceremonial statues” due to the attitude of the then rulers. Farmers, he said, were left with no option but to resort to legal action for every single matter. Mr Reddy shared that he personally participated in approximately 50 revenue meetings organised as part of the Bhu Bharati Act over the past two months, expressing deep sadness at the grievances articulated by farmers during these sessions. “With the determination to provide a permanent solution to land problems, we brought in the Bhu Bharati Act. It is the responsibility of officials to strictly implement this law at the field level to benefit the farmers,” said Srinivasa Reddy.

The Minister also provided an update on the land survey being conducted under a pilot project in five ‘Naksha villages’ across the state, which have either not been surveyed for generations or lack proper survey records. He confirmed that the government undertook this survey to address a problem left unresolved by the previous administration regarding ‘Naksha villages’. The pilot survey commenced in five villages out of the state’s 413 ‘Naksha villages’ from the third week of June. Progress details shared include: 337 acres surveyed out of 422 acres in Salar Nagar, Gandid mandal, Mahabubnagar district; 269 acres out of 626 acres in Kommanapalli (Kothadi) village, Bheerpur mandal, Jagtial district; 445 acres out of 845 acres in Mulugumada, Errupalem mandal, Khammam district; 232 acres out of 502 acres in Nuguru, Venkatapuram mandal, Mulugu district; and 308 acres out of 593 acres in Shahidnagar, Vatpalli mandal, Sangareddy district. In total, 1591 acres out of 2988 acres in these five villages have been surveyed so far. Officials have been instructed to complete the entire survey process within the next week to ten days. The Minister explained that the survey is being carried out physically at the field level in the presence of farmers, aiming to eliminate even minor disputes.

He stated that these new procedures would bring about clarity in land information, transparency, and dispute resolution, significantly benefiting farmers and rural landowners.