The political slugfest between Telangana’s ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and opposition Congress over the Dharani portal has intensified with the latter making serious allegations and demanding a forensic audit of 25 lakh transactions made using the platform.
Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) President A. Revanth Reddy on Thursday alleged that by using Dharani portal, some people with the help of leaders of the ruling party were encroaching on the lands or indulging in other irregularities.
Revanth Reddy alleged that Chief Minister KCR and his son KTR were looting people’s money like cyber criminals. He also claimed that landlords and feudalists were behind the portal.
The Congress leader said the revenue record which should be with the government has fallen into the hands of IL&FS which is managing the portal. He questioned how the government can have an agreement with a company which defaulted on bank loans to the tune of Rs 90,000 crore.
He also alleged that TerraCIS Technologies which is managing Dharani portal on behalf of IL&FS has sold 52.26 per cent stake to a company from Philippines for Rs 1,275 crore.
He said the management of the portal has completely gone into the hands of Sridhar Raju.
All fees related to e-Dharani portal land transactions are going directly to the company run by Sridhar Raju.
Revanth said 25 lakh land transactions valued at Rs 50,000 crore are estimated to have been done over Dharani portal.
“The government is not getting anything from these transactions. The entire money is going to Sridhar Raju’s company,” he said.
The Congress leader claimed that when people are booking slots for registration by paying the fee but not going for registration, they are not getting back their money.
He demanded a forensic audit of 25 lakh transactions done on Dharani portal.
He also plans to approach investigating agencies to demand a thorough probe into Dharani. He said, if necessary, he would knock on the doors of the court.
Revanth also claimed that Dharani portal is not a brainchild of KCR but it started in 2010 in Orissa.
The CAG in its report suggested that the management of the Dharani portal should be handed over to the centrally supervised National Informatics Center (NIC).
The Congress leader’s fresh allegations came amid a war of words between KCR and Congress leaders.
Addressing public meetings, KCR had slammed the Congress party for opposing the Dharani portal and promising to throw it in the Bay of Bengal if voted to power in the coming elections.
KCR urged people to throw the Congress party into the Bay of Bengal. He alleged that the Congress wanted to bring back the system of middlemen.
The BRS government brought the Dharani portal in 2020 as a one-stop solution for all land records under large-scale reforms in the revenue system. The opposition parties, however, say that the Dharani portal added to the problems of land owners, especially farmers.
