The Telangana government can resume non-agricultural property registrations in the old procedure, as long as it doesn't collect Aadhaar and caste details of owners and their family members, following an order by the Telangana High Court. Last month, the court had prohibited the state government from collecting the details on its new Dharani land records portal, ruling that the mandate was violative of the right to privacy. Meanwhile, the fate of the Dharani portal continues to hang in the balance. State IT and Municipal Administration minister K.T. Rama Rao announced on Twitter that the registration of non-agricultural properties would commence on Friday, in accordance to the High Court's order. Hon’ble CM Sri KCR Garu has directed chief secretary to commence the registration activities of Non-Agricultural properties from tomorrow in accordance with the HC orders — KTR (@KTRTRS) December 10, 2020 The Dharani portal is part of the government's efforts to digitise land records, and usher in larger land reforms, in the state. All land registrations were stopped in September, when the state reformed its Revenue Act. The process was supposed to be made entirely digital, via the Dharani portal. Through October, citizens were told to enter their property ownership details on the portal. Submission of Aadhaar and caste details (only broad categories such as OC, SC and ST) were mandatory. The freeze on registrations, which has been suspended since September 7, has caused a backlog of nearly two to three lakh documents, officials told the Times of India. A senior official…
