Bhu Bharati: Checking and Correcting Land Records in Telangana

In Telangana, the record of rights shows who owns and holds each piece of land. Since April 2025, it has been kept under the Bhu Bharati system, which replaced the Dharani portal. Anyone buying land, inheriting it, or finding their name missing from the records needs to know how the new system works.

What changed

The Telangana Bhu Bharati (Record of Rights in Land) Act, 2025 (Act No. 1 of 2025) replaced the Telangana Rights in Land and Pattadar Pass Books Act, 2020, under which Dharani was run. The Bhu Bharati portal (bhubharati.telangana.gov.in) went live on 14 April 2025.

The main differences for landholders:

• Bhudhaar: every land parcel gets a unique identification number, first a temporary one and then a permanent one after the land is surveyed.
• Survey maps: from a date the government notifies, a survey sketch of the land must be attached for registration and mutation. This makes the boundaries, not just the survey number, part of the record.
• Corrections and appeals: there is now a way to correct errors in the record and to appeal against revenue officers' decisions. Under Dharani, many people had no remedy except going to court.
• Old unregistered sales: there is a route to regularise certain old unregistered sale agreements (sada bainamas) for which applications were made in 2020, subject to conditions.

Checking a land record

On the portal, the land details search takes the district, mandal, village and survey number (or khata number). It shows:

• the pattadar's name and the extent held;
• the nature and classification of the land;
• whether the land is on the prohibited list, such as government, assigned, endowment or wakf land;
• the status of any application.

A free helpline, 1800-599-4799, answers questions about the portal.

Before buying land, compare the record with the seller's title deeds and link documents, the encumbrance certificate and the physical boundaries on the ground. A record showing the seller as pattadar is a good sign, but it is not proof of title by itself. Our property due diligence checklist lists the other documents to see.

Mutation after a sale, gift or inheritance

Mutation means updating the record of rights when land changes hands:

• Sale, gift, mortgage, exchange or partition: the Tahsildar registers the document and updates the record. Registration goes ahead when the seller's name and the property details match the record, and the land is not prohibited from transfer.
• Inheritance (succession): the heirs apply online under the succession option, with the death certificate, the family member certificate or legal heir certificate, and any will or partition deed. Every heir's share should be shown correctly.
• Court decrees: a civil court decree about the land can be used to have the record changed.

Track the application online and keep the acknowledgement. When the record is updated, download it and check every detail.

Correcting a wrong record

Common problems include:

• a wrong name or extent;
• land missing from the record, or entered under the wrong survey number;
• a pending succession;
• land wrongly placed on the prohibited list.

An application for correction is made on the portal with the supporting documents, such as old pahanis, pattadar passbooks, registered deeds and survey records. The officer can call for a field inspection or survey before deciding.

Appeals

The Act sets up a two-level appeal:

Appeals are filed online. Attach the order, the documents relied on and a short statement of why the order is wrong.

What Bhu Bharati cannot decide

The record of rights is presumed correct until the contrary is proved, but it does not decide disputed ownership. When two people claim the same land on the strength of competing deeds, or a sale is challenged as fraudulent, the dispute goes to a civil court. The court's decree is then used to correct the record.

For land in and around Hyderabad, also check:

• the conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural use;
• layout approvals from HMDA or DTCP;
• whether the land lies in a lake's FTL or buffer zone. Our article on HYDRAA notices explains why this matters.

Key takeaways

• Bhu Bharati replaced Dharani from 14 April 2025, and every parcel is getting a Bhudhaar number.
• Check the record by survey number before buying, but confirm title from the deeds as well.
• Mistakes can now be corrected online, with appeals to the RDO and then the Collector.
• Ownership disputes still go to the civil court.