Special committee constituted to probe irregularities in Dharani, Bhu Bharati portals

The Telangana government has constituted a high-level Special Committee to investigate the alleged irregularities in the Dharani and Bhu Bharati land record portals, identify those responsible, recommend stringent action against those involved and suggest measures to prevent similar incidents in future.

In a statement on Wednesday, Revenue Secretary D.S. Lokesh Kumar said the committee had been directed to submit its report within 15 days, following which the government would initiate further action. He asserted that the government would not compromise on the security, integrity and transparency of land records under any circumstances.

The committee comprises Medchal-Malkajgiri Collector Mikkilineni Manu Choudary, Sangareddy Collector Prateek Jain, IT and Communications Department Joint Secretary Anudeep Durishetty, Telangana Cyber Security Bureau officer Harsha Vardhan (IPS), CMRO Project Director Apurv Chauhan, ITDA Utnoor Project Officer Manda Makarandu, Telangana CIB Cyber Crimes DSP A. Sampath, Registration and Stamps Department DIG M. Subhashini and National Informatics Centre (NIC) Senior Director (IT) A. Srinivasa Subba Rao.

Stating that the government is treating the issue with utmost seriousness, Mr. Lokesh Kumar said Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy conducted an extensive review meeting at the Secretariat on Wednesday to assess the progress of the ongoing forensic audit of the Dharani portal.

During the review, several concerning findings were brought to the Minister’s notice. According to the Revenue Secretary, the forensic audit revealed inherent security vulnerabilities in the Dharani portal’s system architecture, which were allegedly exploited by vested interests to make unauthorised entries through certain modules.

He said the Bhu Bharati portal, developed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC), was also found to be vulnerable as it follows a technology architecture similar to that of Dharani. The government suspects that some of the individuals who had earlier developed modules for the Dharani portal may also be linked to the irregularities.

On the directions of the Revenue Minister, the National Informatics Centre has been asked to develop a completely new system architecture incorporating the highest security standards to safeguard land records and prevent future breaches.

The Congress government ordered a forensic audit of all transactions carried out through the Dharani portal to determine the extent of alleged irregularities in land transactions over the past few years during the BRS government.