Telangana Sada Bainama Regularisation 2026 - Bhu Bharati Portal Guidelines and Application Process

Telangana government is clearing pending Sada Bainama land registrations for agricultural plots in rural areas under Telangana's new Bhu Bharati (Record of Rights in Land) Act, 2025. More than 9 lakh applications filed back in 2020 are being processed in a phased manner, as confirmed by Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy in the Legislative Council.

These applications were submitted between 12 October and 11 November 2020 under earlier G.O.Ms. No.112, covering nearly 10 lakh acres of land across rural Telangana. Old Dharani Portal, which handled land records till 2024, has now been replaced by Bhu Bharati portal. Full rollout of new portal is planned by end of April 2026, and it has been simplified to just 6 modules against 40-41 modules earlier in Dharani.

Sada Bainama Regularisation Guidelines Under Bhu Bharati Act

Sada Bainama means a plain paper sale agreement used for land transactions without proper registration. Such deeds are common in rural Telangana due to high stamp duty and registration costs, but they hold no legal value under Registration Act, 1908 and were never entered in revenue records.

This issue was stuck for nearly five years due to a Public Interest Litigation in Telangana High Court, which pointed out that 2020 Telangana Rights in Land and Pattadar Passbooks Act did not have a proper provision for regularising unregistered transfers. On 27 August 2025, High Court disposed of the case and lifted the stay, clearing the way for government to process all pending applications under Section 6 of Bhu Bharati Act.

Section 6 allows government to issue a regularisation certificate where buyer is a small or marginal farmer who has held continuous possession of the land for more than 12 years before 2 June 2014. Only rural agricultural land qualifies. Urban land and commercial properties are not covered under this provision.

Who Can Apply for Sada Bainama Regularisation

Not everyone holding an unregistered sale deed can get their land regularised. Following conditions apply for Sada Bainama regularisation in Telangana:

• Land transaction must have taken place before 2 June 2014, which is cut off date fixed by government.
• Buyer should be a small or marginal farmer holding up to 5 acres of dry land or 2.5 acres of wet land.
• Land must be located in a rural area and used only for agriculture purposes.
• Land should not fall under Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority, Kakatiya Urban Development Authority, municipal corporations or municipalities, except a few notified mandals.
• Transaction must not go against provisions of Andhra Pradesh Land Reforms (Ceiling on Agricultural Holdings) Act, 1973 or Assigned Lands (Prohibition of Transfer) Act, 1977.

Stamp duty and registration fee are waived off for small and marginal farmers within above land limit. Farmers holding more than 5 acres need to pay both stamp duty and regularisation fee.

Documents Required for Sada Bainama Registration

Applicants need to keep following documents ready, since these are checked during field verification of old applications:

• Aadhaar card of buyer.
• Original Sada Bainama document showing land sale details.
• Pattadar passbook number of buyer, if already available.
• Pattadar passbook number of seller, wherever available.
• Purchaser affidavit confirming transaction details, possession and compliance with all conditions.
• Other supporting documents related to land, such as tax receipts.

Earlier rules needed affidavits from both buyer and seller, which created problems when seller was not traceable or had passed away. Under G.O. 76, issued in March 2026, only purchaser's affidavit is required now, and this has helped speed up processing across the state.

How Sada Bainama Applications Are Verified

Applicants who already applied in 2020 do not need to submit a fresh application. Revenue Divisional Officers have been directed to take up verification of old applications in a phased manner. Here is how the process works.

STEP 1 - Revenue Divisional Officer picks up pending applications filed through MeeSeva centres during October-November 2020 for scrutiny.

STEP 2 - Field staff carry out physical inspection of the survey number to confirm possession and cross check it with Sada Bainama document, Aadhaar card and other papers submitted by applicant.

STEP 3 - Purchaser submits affidavit as required under G.O. 76, confirming transaction and possession details.

STEP 4 - After verification, Revenue Divisional Officer issues a regularisation certificate under Section 6 of Bhu Bharati Act.

STEP 5 - Land record gets updated in Bhu Bharati portal and a Pattadar Passbook is issued to buyer, on similar lines as beneficiaries under Rythu Bandhu scheme get their land records updated.

Farmers who missed October-November 2020 window cannot apply afresh right now, since this is being treated as a one-time settlement for old pending cases. Applicants can check progress of their case with local Tahsildar office, or through Bhu Bharati portal once its full rollout is complete.

Old Sada Bainama Application Form

Applications filed in 2020 were submitted through MeeSeva centres in a prescribed format. Form used at that time looked like this:

Applicants who filed this form in 2020 do not have to resubmit it. Their applications are already in queue and will be picked up for field verification based on G.O. 76 and Bhu Bharati Act guidelines.

Corruption Cases Linked to Old Dharani Portal

Revenue Minister also told Legislative Council that certain persons, in collusion with MeeSeva operators, misused loopholes in older Dharani portal to misappropriate ₹3.99 crore in government funds. A high level committee has been formed to look into matter and recover the amount.

Source / Reference Link: thesouthfirst.com, deccanchronicle.com

FAQ's

Is Sada Bainama registration still accepting new applications in 2026?

No fresh application window is open right now. Government is only processing over 9 lakh applications filed between October and November 2020.

What happened to Dharani Portal?

Dharani portal has been replaced by Bhu Bharati portal, which has just 6 modules compared to 40-41 modules in Dharani. Full rollout is planned by end of April 2026.

Do both buyer and seller need to submit affidavits now?

No. As per G.O. 76 issued in March 2026, only purchaser needs to submit an affidavit now.

Which lands are not eligible for Sada Bainama regularisation?

Urban land, commercial properties and land falling under HMDA, KUDA, municipal corporations or municipalities (except a few notified mandals) are not eligible.

How long will verification of pending applications take?

With more than 9 lakh cases requiring physical inspection of each survey number, government has indicated the process could take several months to complete.