If you typed "Dharani land records Hyderabad" into a search bar this week and landed on a different portal, you are not lost. On 14 April 2025, Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy launched the Bhu Bharati land records system at Shilparamam in Hyderabad, formally replacing the Dharani portal that the previous government had run under the Telangana Rights in Land and Pattadar Pass Books Act, 2020. Dharani is the name most buyers, agents, and even bank officers still use out of habit, but the live record you must read in 2026 sits on the new system created under the Telangana Bhu Bharati (Record of Rights in Land) Act, 2025.

The short answer. The portal buyers call Dharani land records Hyderabad is now Bhu Bharati, launched 14 April 2025, and it carries a 14-digit Bhudhaar identification number for each land parcel. Before you pay anything, check that the parcel is not on the Section 22A prohibited list, because a flagged parcel means the Sub-Registrar will block registration and banks will reject the home loan. The trade-off: a clean record today does not stay clean, since the prohibited list is updated continuously, so a check done a month ago is worthless on registration day.

Quick facts for the record: Telangana replaced the Dharani portal with the Bhu Bharati land records system on 14 April 2025 in Hyderabad, and the change was confirmed by the Telangana Bhu Bharati (Record of Rights in Land) Act, 2025 (source: The News Minute and The South First).

What happened to the Dharani land records Hyderabad portal, and what replaced it?

Dharani was retired and replaced by Bhu Bharati on 14 April 2025, so the authoritative land record for any plot in and around Hyderabad now lives on the new system. The state introduced Bhu Bharati under the Telangana Bhu Bharati (Record of Rights in Land) Act, 2025, after years of complaints that Dharani had locked records. The practical differences matter to a buyer. Under Dharani, correcting a record often meant a civil court case, while Bhu Bharati routes grievances to local revenue officials such as the Tahsildar and the Revenue Divisional Officer, with escalation to the District Collector. Bhu Bharati also mandates survey maps at the time of registration, which Dharani did not, and keeps physical records at revenue offices alongside the digital file. Expect the data to keep shifting as old Dharani entries are migrated and corrected.

How do I read the land record and the Pahani correctly?

You read it by matching three things: the parcel identity, the owner name, and the enjoyment or possession column. Each parcel now carries a 14-digit Bhudhaar number, a Unique Land Parcel Identification Number that works like an Aadhaar for land and encodes the state, district, mandal, village, and survey number. For agricultural land, the Record of Rights, known as the Pahani or ROR 1B, is the document to pull. The 2025 Act restored the 11-column Pahani, and the current version includes an enjoyment column that names the actual occupant, which can differ from the registered owner. That gap is a red flag worth a hard question before you proceed. For a flat or an urban plot, the more important documents are the registered sale deed chain and the Encumbrance Certificate, covered below. If you are also weighing the cost side, our explainer on Telangana stamp duty and registration charges for Hyderabad buyers walks through what you pay once the title checks out.

What is the Section 22A prohibited property list, and why does it block a sale?

The Section 22A prohibited list is a register of land that cannot be legally sold or registered, and the Sub-Registrar has no discretion to override it. The list covers six broad categories: assigned land distributed to the landless poor, government property, Endowment and Waqf holdings, ceiling surplus land, parcels under court restriction, and any land the government notifies as opposed to public policy. If your target parcel falls under any of these, the consequences are immediate. The Sub-Registrar cannot process any sale, gift, or mortgage deed for it, with no exception at the counter. Banks treat a 22A flag as a non-marketable title and will reject a home loan outright, even when the listing contains a correctable error. This is the single most expensive mistake a Hyderabad buyer can make, because money paid for a 22A parcel can be stuck for years.

How do I actually check the prohibited list and the Encumbrance Certificate online?

You check two separate portals, because a parcel can read clean on one and prohibited on the other. For a flat, commercial space, or urban plot, go to registration.telangana.gov.in, open the Prohibited Properties search on the Telangana Registration portal, and enter the district, mandal, village, and survey number. For agricultural land, run the same parcel through the Land Status search on the Bhu Bharati portal. Then pull the Encumbrance Certificate using the Encumbrance Certificate service on the Telangana Registration portal, which shows the transaction history and reveals whether the property is mortgaged or carries a court attachment. One limitation to plan for: the online Encumbrance Certificate covers transactions from 01-01-1983 onward only, so for older title you must visit the local Sub-Registrar Office and request a manual search of the physical registers. If the government value of the property is also part of your due diligence, read our coverage of the Telangana property registration value revision in Hyderabad to understand how the market value used for registration is set.

What are the most common red flags buyers miss in Hyderabad?

The most common red flag is a mismatch between who is selling and who the record says owns the land. Watch for an enjoyment column that names a cultivator or occupant different from the registered pattadar, because that signals a possession dispute. Watch for a survey number that appears in the seller documents but not on the current Bhu Bharati parcel, which can mean the land was renumbered or split during migration from Dharani. Watch for an Encumbrance Certificate that shows an open mortgage the seller never mentioned. Watch for assigned land sold by a private party, since land given to the landless poor is non-transferable and sits squarely under Section 22A. And watch for layouts near the Outer Ring Road that lack Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority approval, because an unapproved layout can carry parcels that are not registrable even when the underlying title looks fine.

What does this verification cost me in time and risk?

The verification itself is cheap, but skipping it is what costs money. A prohibited-list check and an Encumbrance Certificate search can be done online in an afternoon, while a manual pre-1983 search at the Sub-Registrar Office adds a small fee and a few days. The real trade-off is timing. The Section 22A list is updated continuously, and parcels have been added to it between a buyer's first check and the registration date, blocking the deal after money changed hands. Where the title is complex, a few thousand rupees for a property lawyer to read the Pahani, the deed chain, and the Encumbrance Certificate is far cheaper than a parcel that cannot be registered.

Who should I trust when the seller says the record is clean?

Trust the record you pull yourself, not the printout the seller hands you. Sellers and brokers can show a screenshot from a clean day, but only a live check on registration.telangana.gov.in and the Bhu Bharati portal under your own eyes confirms the current status. Run the Bhudhaar number yourself and demand a fresh Encumbrance Certificate dated within the week of registration. If anyone tells you a 22A flag is a clerical error that will be fixed after you pay, treat that as a reason to walk away, because the Sub-Registrar will still refuse to register and the bank will still refuse the loan until the entry is actually cleared. The honest trade-off: doing the checks slows you down and can cost you a deal a faster buyer grabs, but it is the only thing standing between you and a parcel that looks like a bargain and turns out to be unsellable.

1. Confirm whether the record sits on Bhu Bharati, since it replaced Dharani on 14 April 2025, and note the 14-digit Bhudhaar number for the parcel.
2. Run the Section 22A prohibited check on registration.telangana.gov.in for urban land and on the Bhu Bharati portal for agricultural land.
3. Pull a fresh Encumbrance Certificate to surface mortgages, liens, and court attachments, and order a manual Sub-Registrar search for pre-1983 title.
4. Read the Pahani or ROR 1B and compare the enjoyment column against the registered owner to catch possession disputes.
5. Match the survey number and Bhudhaar number on the seller documents against the current parcel on the portal.
6. Check that any layout near the Outer Ring Road carries Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority approval.
7. Repeat the prohibited-list check on the exact day you finalise the price and again on registration day, and make your advance conditional on a clean record.

Is Dharani still the official land records portal for Hyderabad in 2026?

No. Telangana replaced the Dharani portal with the Bhu Bharati land records system on 14 April 2025, under the Telangana Bhu Bharati (Record of Rights in Land) Act, 2025. Buyers still say Dharani out of habit, but the live, authoritative record for any plot in and around Hyderabad now sits on the Bhu Bharati portal at bhubharati.telangana.gov.in.

How do I check if a property is on the Section 22A prohibited list?

Go to registration.telangana.gov.in and open the Prohibited Properties search for urban or non-agricultural land, then enter the district, mandal, village, and survey number. For agricultural land, run the same parcel through the Land Status search on the Bhu Bharati portal. Check both, because a parcel can read clean on one and prohibited on the other.

What is the Bhudhaar number and why does it matter?

The Bhudhaar number is a 14-digit Unique Land Parcel Identification Number assigned to each land parcel in Telangana, working like an Aadhaar for land. It encodes the state, district, mandal, village, and survey number, giving the parcel a permanent digital identity. For a buyer, matching the Bhudhaar number confirms the parcel being sold is the parcel on the official record.

Why do banks reject loans on Section 22A land?

Banks classify a parcel flagged under Section 22A as having a non-marketable title, so a home loan application is rejected outright. This holds even when the listing contains a data error that could in theory be corrected later. Because the Sub-Registrar also refuses to register such a parcel, the property cannot be transferred or used as loan security until the entry is genuinely cleared.

Last updated 2026-06-26. PropNewz Team.