Telangana CM orders probe against agency running Dharani portal

Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy has ordered a probe into the agency managing the ‘Dharani’ portal for land transactions. Concerns were raised about the safety of land records of farmers being in the hands of foreign companies and the potential risk to data security.

During a review meeting with the Dharani committee, the Chief Minister questioned the decision to entrust the portal to a private agency instead of the Chief Commissioner of Land Administration. The agency involved, IL&FS, later went bankrupt, changed its name to Terrasys Technologies Limited, and sold shares to Falcon Investment Company.

Chief Minister Revanth expressed astonishment at the agency’s significant profit from the Dharani project and raised concerns about potential mismanagement of land records and ownership changes. He also inquired about complaints of land registrations taking place at unusual hours and instructed officials to address pending applications promptly.

The Revenue Minister, Chief Adviser, and other officials were present at the meeting where the Dharani Committee highlighted flaws in the ROR Act and the challenges faced by farmers in correcting errors in Dharani data. The misuse of public funds by the Agriculture Department based on Dharani data was also discussed, leading to recommendations for legal amendments for a permanent solution.