Outdated records partly to blame

Erroneous revenue records prompt land scam incidents as the state government fails to conduct a comprehensive land survey for three years though the Centre has offered to bear part of the expenditure.

The land records available with the government are based on a survey done in the 1930s.

Officials identified 42 lakh errors in land records in April last year when they verified manual records with computerised data. The mistakes were in five categories — typographical, survey numbers, extent of land, registered in great grandparents’ name and wrong land mutation.

It has become easy for land grabbers to encroach on lands in the absence of updated records. They lure revenue officials with bribes for registration of such land parcels.

Some retired revenue officials, right from the village level to state level, who are conversant with the shortcomings in the data, help land grabbers identify such land parcels and get them registered in their names or those of their associates.

Owners are forced to ‘settle’ the issue with land grabbers by accepting whatever amount is offered by them.

Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao had announced that the government would take up a comprehensive land survey soon after assuming office in June 2014 but there has been no action.

The revenue department estimated that it requires `260 crore for the survey. The state government sought the Centre's assistance, which agreed to bear 50 per cent of the cost. The matter rests there. In Hyderabad, the last survey was conducted between 1960 and 1975.

Deputy Chief Minister and revenue minister Mohd Mahmood Ali said that the delay was due to lack of surveyors. “We have recruited 2,000 surveyors but need 3,000 more for the job. We will launch the survey soon and aim to complete it by 2018-end. Updating and correcting of revenue records is the only solution to check irregularities,” Mr Ali said.