From the Nizam Era to Bhu Bharati: The Evolution of Land Records in Telangana

 T. Chiranjeevulu IAS(Ret), Founder & President BCIF(BC Intellectuals Forum) 

From the Nizam Era to Bhu Bharati: The Evolution of Land Records in Telangana

From Survey and Settlement to Digital Land Administration

Introduction

Last week, we discussed the feudal landholding system in Telangana, the land-revenue practices of the Nizam era, land reforms, and landownership rights. In this article, let us examine in detail what land records are, how they are prepared, how ownership rights are transferred, and what is distinctive about Section 22-A.

The land-records system is the official mechanism for recording matters such as ownership rights, land extent, boundaries, cultivation details, transfers of land, and the identification of government land. In Telangana, this system has passed through many stages: it began with survey and settlement methods under the Nizams, continued through land reforms and Records of Rights laws after Hyderabad State merged with the Indian Union, and later moved through computerisation and the Dharani portal to the currently implemented Bhu Bharati law.

One important point emerges from this history: survey records, revenue records, registration documents, and ownership rights are related to one another, but none is a substitute for the others. Coordination among them, record accuracy, and legally valid correction procedures are crucial to land administration.

1. Survey and Settlement During the Nizam Era

The survey and settlement system of the Nizam period laid the foundation for the modern land-records system in Telangana. According to historical information from government district survey departments, the Survey and Land Records Department was established in 1875. In the Telangana region, survey work was carried out using the Bombay Survey method from 1920 and continued until 1956.

The process involved measuring land, identifying boundaries, assigning survey numbers, preparing village maps (naksha), and recording land extent and classification. Records such as Tippans, Sethwars, village maps, Wasool Baqi, Pahani, and Jamabandi were prepared as part of this system.

At that time, all land was not governed by one uniform administrative system. In addition to Khalsa land, for which revenue was paid directly to the government, there were different categories such as jagirs and inams. As discussed in the previous article, rights, revenue obligations, and transfer procedures differed according to the nature of the land.

Survey and settlement sought to organise the geographical identification, extent, classification, and revenue details of land. However, preparing a survey record and establishing final ownership of land are not the same thing.

2. Major Land Records: From Tippan to Pahani

Different records serve specific purposes in Telangana’s land administration.

Tippan or FMB (Field Measurement Book): A technical record containing land measurements, shape, boundaries, and subdivisions. It is important for identifying the actual extent and boundaries of land.

Village map (Naksha): A map showing survey numbers, the location of lands in a village, and the boundaries between them.

Sethwar: A primary record prepared during survey and settlement. This important register contains survey numbers, extents, land classification, patta or inam status, and other details relating to the settlement of land revenue. In the Andhra region, a comparable record is called the Diglot or A Register.

Pahani: An annual revenue record relating to agricultural land. It records details such as the pattadar, cultivator, extent, crop, and cultivation conditions. It generally reflects the circumstances for a particular agricultural year and identifies the pattadar, the person in possession, and the person cultivating the land. Merely having a name entered in it is not conclusive proof of ownership.

Wasool Baqi Register: In the management of land surveys and revenue records, this register can be described as a record used to match old survey numbers with new ones and to record land extent, land-related details, and information about cultivators or occupants at the time. In Andhra Pradesh, the related record is called the Resettlement Register (RSR).

Chowfasla: A revenue record that brings together details of the survey numbers, extents, and land revenue for lands belonging to one person in a village.

Fasli Patti: A historical revenue record used in Telangana and the former Hyderabad region. It was used to record mutations (changes in rights), assignments, and changes in landownership or possession.

Jama Bandhi: An administrative process conducted for each Fasli year (from 1 July to 30 June), during which officials examine and verify village land details, land-revenue collections, amounts due to the government, and land-record accounts. Mutations for purchasers of land could also be approved during this process. Since land records have now been digitised, the article notes that this process is no longer necessary.

There are also registers showing government land, details of agricultural land cultivated under tanks and ponds, and many other records. A land’s history can be understood comprehensively only by comparing these records with one another rather than examining them separately. If the extent shown in one record does not match another, the reason should be established using the relevant survey and revenue evidence. In the erstwhile united Andhra Pradesh, various guidelines and instructions were issued through the B.S.O.s.

3. Abolition of Jagirs, Tenancy Law, and Abolition of Inams

After Hyderabad State merged with India in 1948, major changes began in land administration. Legal measures relating to the abolition of jagirs came into effect in 1949. They abolished the jagir system and paved the way for bringing land-revenue administration under the government system. Makta, paigah, and the Nizam’s own lands, known as Sarf-e-Khas, were also part of this historical transition.

The Hyderabad Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act, enacted in 1950, became an important law for regulating relations between landlords and tenants and recognising the rights of protected tenants.

The Hyderabad Abolition of Inams Act, enacted in 1955, established a legal framework for matters relating to rights in inam lands, transfer of lands to the government, and recognition of rights for eligible persons.

With the implementation of these laws, old survey records continued to matter, but tenancy rights, inam-abolition orders, and other legally valid documents also became important when examining land rights.

4. The Importance of the Kasra Pahani

After Hyderabad State merged with the Indian Union, determining landownership rights in Telangana became a major issue. It became necessary to identify differences among the rights of jagirdars, inamdars, pattadars, tenants, protected tenants, and actual cultivators, and to organise land records. Landownership was in a confused state.

In this context, the elected government of Burgula Ramakrishna Rao conducted a land census in 1954–55. The resulting Kasra Pahani became an important primary record for determining land rights. Subsequently, it played a key role in landownership disputes in Telangana, the examination of patta rights, and the assessment of the authenticity of land records.

It recorded details such as the land, pattadar, cultivator, and extent. In some cases where old title documents are unavailable, this record can help examine the history of land rights. However, the mere entry of a person’s name in the Kasra Pahani is not, in every case, conclusive proof of complete ownership. Sethwar, later Pahanis, inheritance documents, registered deeds, and orders issued under relevant laws must also be examined.

5. Land Reforms and the Land Ceiling Act

After independence, several laws were enacted to address issues relating to landownership, tenancy rights, and land distribution. An important one was the Andhra Pradesh Land Reforms (Ceiling on Agricultural Holdings) Act, enacted in 1973.

The Act set maximum limits on agricultural landholdings. The limits vary according to factors such as land type, irrigation facilities, and the standard holding. Accordingly, the article states that the ceiling was up to 54 acres of dry land, or 10 to 27 acres of double-crop wet land. In implementing land-ceiling laws, old survey and settlement records were important evidence for establishing land extent, land type, and ownership.

6. Records of Rights Laws and Pattadar Passbooks

In the Telangana region, the 1358 Fasli Record of Rights Regulation was already in force before 1971. Later, in united Andhra Pradesh, the Andhra Pradesh Rights in Land and Pattadar Pass Books Act, 1971 established a statutory system for preparing and maintaining records of land rights and recording changes.

Under this law, procedures developed for recording changes in revenue records when rights changed through land purchases, sales, inheritance, or other lawful transfers. For the first time, a passbook showing a farmer’s ownership rights was issued. Important amendments to the law in 1989 further developed the system for maintaining records, pattadar passbooks, and title deeds.

A pattadar passbook is a document that provides land details and information about recorded rights. A title deed is a document indicating ownership rights. However, the title it represents is presumptive title, not necessarily conclusive title. Only civil courts can determine whether conclusive ownership rights exist.

7. Registration Act, 1908: Deeds, Mutation, and Ownership

The Registration Act, 1908 is the principal law governing the registration of documents relating to immovable property. It contains rules for transactions such as the sale, gift, mortgage, and lease of land, and specifies circumstances in which registration is compulsory. The Transfer of Property Act, 1882 and the Indian Stamp Act, 1899 are also part of the legal framework governing land transfers.

Three matters must be distinguished:

1. Registration: Recording a document in accordance with the law.

2. Mutation: Recording a change in land rights in the revenue records.

3. Ownership right: A person’s legal right to land, established on the basis of legally valid evidence.

Registration alone cannot give a buyer a right that the seller did not possess. Similarly, changing a name in a revenue record does not, by itself, create ownership. Coordination among the three systems—survey, revenue, and registration—is essential to land administration.

8. Section 22-A: Regulation of Registration of Prohibited Properties

Section 22-A of the Registration Act is an important provision concerning land registration, land rights, and protection of government land. Its purpose is to prevent registration of government land, prohibited properties, and certain properties subject to legal restrictions.

1. What was the situation before Section 22-A? The registration system mainly examined the identity of the person submitting a property-sale deed and the execution process, payment of applicable stamp duty and registration fees, and other formalities required by law. Registration itself did not establish that the person had ownership rights over the property. Buyers had to independently examine whether the seller genuinely held title and whether the property was government-owned or disputed. The registration officer’s role was limited. As a result, where no other applicable legal prohibition prevented it, there was a risk that transfer documents relating to government or prohibited properties could be registered.

2. Why was Section 22-A introduced? In 2007, the government of united Andhra Pradesh amended the Registration Act and introduced Section 22-A to prohibit registration of properties belonging to specified categories. It came into force on 20 June 2007. The provision may prohibit registration of documents relating to five main categories of property:

(1) Section 22-A(1)(a): Land whose transfer is prohibited under central or state laws—for example, assigned land subject to a transfer prohibition.

(2) Section 22-A(1)(b): Documents by which persons without lawful authority seek to transfer land belonging to the central or state government.

(3) Section 22-A(1)(c): Documents by which persons without lawful authority seek to transfer property belonging to endowments, religious or charitable institutions, or Waqf; leases exceeding ten years are also included.

(4) Section 22-A(1)(d): Agricultural or urban land declared surplus under the Telangana Land Reforms Act, 1973, or the Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act, 1976.

(5) Section 22-A(1)(e): Through a government Gazette notification, registration may be prohibited where it would adversely affect property in which governments, local bodies, educational, cultural, religious or charitable institutions, courts, or tax laws have conferred benefits or rights.

An important distinction is that, for categories (a) to (d), the prohibition operates on the basis of the relevant laws and lists issued by the authorities. Category (e), however, requires a government Gazette notification.

3. What would happen without Section 22-A? Its absence would not mean that anyone could lawfully sell every parcel of government land. Other laws and prohibitions would still apply. However, without this specific mechanism to prevent registration of prohibited properties, it would be more difficult to stop unlawful transfers of government or otherwise protected property at the registration stage. For example, if someone claimed ownership of and submitted a sale deed for property belonging to the government or a public institution, such as the Charminar or the Secretariat, the applicable rules, the nature of the property, and the authority of the officials concerned would be important in deciding whether the document could lawfully be refused. Registration would not make the sale lawful, nor would it automatically give the buyer ownership rights.

4. Why is Section 22-A now controversial? Although the provision is intended to protect government land, genuine patta lands belonging to private individuals may be mistakenly included in the prohibited-property list. If that happens, it becomes difficult for the owners to sell or transfer their land. The article says this has occurred in Telangana. It states that when the High Court asked the government to notify the reasons for including private lands in the prohibited list, lands that had previously been removed from the list were added to Section 22-A again, creating the problem. This issue has led to public discussion and legal disputes in Telangana.

Two goals must therefore be balanced: protecting government property by preventing unlawful transfers of government land, assigned land, and other legally protected properties; and protecting private property rights by ensuring that lawful private land is not mistakenly included in the prohibited list and by providing a transparent process for correcting errors. The Revenue Department should function transparently.

Section 22-A is not a law that determines ownership of land; it is a provision that prohibits registration of documents relating to specified properties. Its implementation must give due importance both to protecting government land and to the rights of genuine landowners.

9. The Dharani Portal, 2020

The Dharani portal was launched to digitise records of agricultural land in Telangana and connect revenue services with registration processes. Its statutory basis was the Telangana Rights in Land and Pattadar Pass Books Act, 2020, which came into force on 29 October 2020.

The objectives of Dharani included maintaining land records online, linking registration and mutation processes, and making land details available in digital form.

However, computerisation alone cannot resolve errors in old records. Problems such as incorrect names, discrepancies in extent, inheritance changes, confusion over survey numbers, and pending mutations can also carry over into a digital system.

The report of the Dharani Committee established by the state government in 2024 identified shortcomings relating to the 2020 Act and the maintenance and implementation of records. This highlighted that, alongside digitisation, record accuracy and the availability of legally valid correction procedures are equally important.

10. The Bhu Bharati Act, 2025: The Current Land-Records System

After Dharani, another major change in the land-records system came through the Telangana Bhu Bharati (Record of Rights in Land) Act, 2025. The Act was published in the Gazette as Telangana Act No. 1 of 2025 on 4 January 2025. The rules were announced on 14 April 2025, and the Act also came into force on that date.

The Bhu Bharati Act provides statutory procedures for maintaining records of land rights, recording changes in the records, making corrections, handling complaints, and hearing appeals. Services available through the official portal include viewing ROR-1B and Pahani details, searching for land information, and downloading digital documents.

The provision of a system for correcting records through Bhu Bharati is an important development. However, one procedure will not necessarily apply to every problem. Ordinary record corrections, inheritance, survey disputes, claims involving government land, and ownership disputes pending before a court may require different legal processes.

11. Major Challenges in the Current Land-Records System

Several matters require particular attention to make Telangana’s land-records system more reliable.

First, the old Sethwar, Tippan, Kasra Pahani, subsequent Pahanis, registration deeds, and current digital records must be cross-checked against one another.

Second, survey numbers, subdivisions, land extents, and boundaries must be identified accurately. Errors or ambiguities in old survey records should be resolved through technical examination. Alternatively, existing technology could be used to resurvey all villages, establish boundaries and ownership rights, and set up tribunals to resolve disputes through retired judicial or revenue officers.

Third, inheritance, mutation, and registration changes must be recorded promptly. If revenue records and registration details relating to the same land differ, the discrepancy should be corrected through a lawful process.

Fourth, the Registration Act should be amended to require that, when only part of a parcel under a survey number is sold, both the original survey-number map and the subdivision map of the portion being sold be attached. This would help reduce boundary disputes, duplicate registrations, and land encroachments, while protecting buyers’ rights.

Fifth, details of government land, assigned land, and other prohibited properties must be identified accurately. Errors in the Section 22-A list should be examined and resolved in accordance with the law.

From the survey and settlement system of the Nizam era through Kasra Pahani, land reforms, Records of Rights laws, the Registration Act, Section 22-A, Dharani, and Bhu Bharati, Telangana’s land-records system has passed through many stages. At each stage, the goals have included identifying land, recording rights, monitoring transfers, protecting government property, and making records accessible to the public.

The fundamental objective of land administration is not merely to make records available online. Records must be accurate; rights must be recorded lawfully; survey, registration, and mutation systems must be interconnected; and there must be a transparent process for correcting errors. Alongside protecting government land, the system must ensure that the rights of lawful private landowners are not unnecessarily obstructed.

The combination of high-quality land records, legal clarity, technical accuracy, and an accessible mechanism for resolving problems forms the foundation of effective land administration. Comprehensive, transparent, and accurate land records can reduce land disputes and encourage investment in real estate. They can also improve land-use efficiency and productivity and create opportunities for broader economic activity.

Above all, land-record reforms can contribute to national economic growth. According to the article, a McKinsey Global Institute report previously estimated that reforms such as clarifying landownership rights and computerising land records could potentially increase India’s GDP by 1–2%. Developed countries have implemented title-registration systems, whereas India continues to face the burdens associated with deed registration. The next, third part will discuss the title-registration system.