Hyderabad: The finance department led by Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka is playing spoilsport in the effective implementation of the Bhu Bharati Act. The Congress government’s efforts to win public support by replacing the controversial Dharani portal with the Bhu Bharati portal have been undermined by the finance department’s restrictions on issuing refunds to individuals who cancel their registration slots for various reasons using the newly-launched Bhu Bharati portal.
While the finance department promptly clears bills for influential contractors, it is creating roadblocks in processing refunds for ordinary citizens through the Bhu Bharati portal, sources noted.
Despite the replacement of the much-criticised Dharani portal with Bhu Bharati, people awaiting refunds for cancelled registration slots continue to face the same ordeal. This persistent issue is primarily due to the finance department’s freeze on all payments except staff salaries and pensions, citing a financial crunch.
As a result, the treasury department has been instructed not to process any refund bills, effectively stalling the refund mechanism, even under the revamped Bhu Bharati portal.
Under the Dharani system, which was introduced on October 29, 2020, during the BRS regime, there was no built-in provision for refunds in case of registration slot cancellations. Property buyers and sellers were required to book online slots and pay registration fees based on market value.
However, if the transaction was cancelled for any reason, the money was forfeited, as the portal lacked the functionality to process refunds. This technical and administrative gap led to a build-up of pending refund claims, with each district accumulating an average of `5 crore over the past four years.
Before Dharani, agricultural land registrations were managed by the stamps and registration department through the CARD (Computer Aided Administration of Registration Department) system, which did include a refund mechanism. With the shift to Dharani, the CARD system was scrapped, and the refund facility disappeared, leaving thousands of people in a lurch.
The launch of the Bhu Bharati portal on April 14 this year brought hope to many that pending issues would be addressed. Designed to be more user-friendly and efficient, Bhu Bharati was expected to resolve refund-related challenges. However, in practice, users are finding themselves in the same situation as before. Even new transactions processed through Bhu Bharati are facing refund delays upon cancellation, primarily due to the financial freeze imposed by the finance department.
A senior official of the revenue department told Deccan Chronicle that the problem lies not with the Bhu Bharati portal itself but with the treasury department. “Bhu Bharati has a provision to refund money. We send refund proposals to the treasury department as soon as registration slots are cancelled. These proposals lie pending there. The problem is not with the Bhu Bharati portal,” he explained.
Echoing similar concerns, V. Lachi Reddy, chairman of the Telangana Revenue Employees Joint Action Committee (JAC), who played a key role in devising Bhu Bharati, pointed to the financial freeze as the root of the problem. “This is more about the freeze imposed by the treasury department on the payment of bills. Because of this, refunds could not be made even through the Bhu Bharati portal,” he stated.