TIRUPATI: The age-old Athuku Badi Patta land dispute in Railway Kodur mandal, covering nearly 15,000 acres, is finally moving towards resolution.
Tirupati District Collector S Venkateswar has announced a six-month plan to resolve the long-pending issue and provide legally binding pattas to farmers who have cultivated these lands for generations but were denied registration rights.
After the integration of Kodur Railway in Tirupati district, the administration has prioritized this issue, similar to the earlier settlement of encroached house areas in Thathaiah Gunta Katta. The collector stressed that the surrender of potatoes will protect farmers from displacement, prevent unauthorized land grabbing and enable them to access credit, subsidies and inheritance rights.
To systematically address disputes in such a vast tract, the administration is implementing digital re-survey and mapping of boundaries using drones and GPS, verification of old revenue records to distinguish forest poramboke from agricultural land and data integration through Webland to issue secure Pattadar QR coded Books.
Fast track approvals will be presented to the state cabinet, following the successful model used in the Settipalli land dispute.
Farmers will be required to submit proof of identity to claim pattas. The settlement process will unfold in phases: ground level surveys (ongoing), public display of draft land lists within 30 days, settlement of overlapping claims in 2-3 months and final distribution of pattas within six months.
The initiative is expected to end decades of insecurity, secure farmers’ rights and end one of the biggest land disputes in the history of Tirupati district, marking an important step in restoring confidence among long-suffering landowners.
