# Buying Farmland in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh: Bhu Bharati, Pahani and Passbooks > Two states, two very different land record systems since 2020. How Telangana's Bhu Bharati (which replaced Dharani in 2025) works, how AP's system works, and what buyers must check in each. - Canonical: https://www.agriva.ai/blog/farmland-buying-guide-telangana-andhra - Published: 2026-09-18 - Updated: 2026-09-24 - Author: Agriva Editorial - Category: Buying guides - Tags: telangana, andhra-pradesh, bhu-bharati, dharani, pahani, buying-guide - Reading time: 4 min - Source: Agriva (https://www.agriva.ai) --- Telangana and Andhra Pradesh shared a land administration until 2014 and have diverged sharply since. A buyer who learns one system and assumes it applies across the old combined state will get it wrong. ## Telangana: from Dharani to Bhu Bharati Telangana consolidated agricultural land records and registration into a single integrated portal, Dharani, from 2020. It was a genuine structural change, not a digitisation exercise. In April 2025 the state replaced Dharani with a new portal, **Bhu Bharati** ([bhubharati.telangana.gov.in](https://bhubharati.telangana.gov.in)), which now carries the record of rights, pattadar passbooks, mutation and agricultural land registration. The integrated model described below carried over; the portal and its procedures changed. **What it did.** Registration and mutation of agricultural land were brought together. For land inside the system, a sale is registered and the record is updated in one integrated process, rather than registration at the sub-registrar followed by a separate [mutation application](/blog/khata-mutation-transfer-explained). Agricultural land transactions are handled through designated offices rather than the ordinary sub-registrar route. **The pattadar passbook** is the key document -- issued to the recorded holder, with the survey numbers and extents held. For agricultural land, this is what you ask for. **What to check.** That the seller's passbook shows the exact survey number and extent being sold, and that the parcel appears in Bhu Bharati as available for transaction. Extract the record yourself. **The part that catches buyers.** Parcels that did not migrate cleanly into the integrated records -- because of disputes, missing records, or classification problems -- can sit in a **prohibited or disputed list**, which blocks transactions on them. Parcels recorded as government land, assigned land, endowment land or forest land are also barred or restricted. Check whether the survey number appears on the prohibited property list **before** you pay an advance. This is a specific, checkable thing, and it is the most valuable single search in a Telangana transaction. A parcel on that list cannot be transacted until the underlying issue is resolved, and resolution can take a very long time. **Assigned land.** Land assigned by the government to landless poor beneficiaries carries a bar on alienation. Sales in breach have been unwound. If the record shows assignment, take specific advice -- this parallels the grant land restrictions discussed in [chain of title](/blog/mother-deed-chain-of-title-explained). Because Bhu Bharati is recent, its procedures are still settling and older advice written for Dharani may not apply. Confirm the current process with the local tahsildar's office before you transact. Official portals for every state are listed in the [land record portal directory](/tools/land-record-portals). ## Andhra Pradesh: pahani, 1B and the resurvey Andhra Pradesh retained a more conventional structure, with registration at the sub-registrar and a separate revenue record. **The pahani (adangal)** is the village record of the holding and cultivation -- the same instrument as the Karnataka RTC in substance. Read the cultivator column with the same care described in [how to read an RTC](/blog/how-to-read-rtc-pahani-record). **The 1B register** records ownership against the account. Ask for the 1B extract alongside the pahani. **The FMB sketch** ties the survey number to the ground. Use it as described in [verifying a survey number](/blog/how-to-verify-survey-number-land). **The resurvey.** Andhra Pradesh has been running a comprehensive land resurvey, issuing updated records and revised survey numbering for resurveyed villages. Where a village has been resurveyed, **the survey number on older documents will not match the current one**. Obtain the correlation statement and pull [an Encumbrance Certificate](/blog/encumbrance-certificate-explained) under both the old and new numbers. Missing this is the most likely way to run a clean search against the wrong parcel. ## Common to both states **Prohibited and government land categories.** Both states bar or restrict transactions in assigned land, endowment and wakf land, and land recorded as government or forest. Check the classification explicitly. **Ceiling limits** under the respective ceiling legislation apply to the family unit. See [land ceiling limits by state](/blog/land-ceiling-limits-by-state-india). **Water.** Both states divide between canal command areas -- the Krishna and Godavari systems, the delta districts around Vijayawada, Guntur and Kakinada -- and dry interior districts such as Kurnool, Nizamabad and Khammam where borewells dominate and the table has fallen. Confirm command area membership and head-reach position rather than relying on proximity to a canal. Method in [verifying a farmland water source](/blog/how-to-verify-farmland-water-source). **Soil.** Delta alluvium in the coastal districts, red soils inland, black soil in pockets of Telangana. See [soil types and crop suitability](/blog/soil-types-india-crop-suitability). **Site work.** The full [site visit checklist](/blog/farmland-site-visit-checklist) applies, including the local enquiries in [gram panchayat records and NOCs](/blog/gram-panchayat-noc-land-purchase). ## Registration and after Order the [Encumbrance Certificate](/blog/encumbrance-certificate-explained) through the respective state registration portal. Build [the chain of title](/blog/mother-deed-chain-of-title-explained) and examine any [power of attorney](/blog/power-of-attorney-land-purchase-risks). [Stamp duty](/blog/stamp-duty-registration-agricultural-land) is charged on the higher of consideration and the notified market value. In Telangana, agricultural land registration and record update run together through Bhu Bharati; in Andhra Pradesh, complete mutation separately after registration. To build, you need [conversion](/blog/na-conversion-process-explained) and the applicable planning permissions. ## Where to look Browse [farmland near Hyderabad](/properties/telangana/hyderabad/farmland), [agricultural land around Warangal](/properties/telangana/warangal/agricultural), [farmland near Guntur](/properties/andhra-pradesh/guntur/farmland), or [agricultural land around Vijayawada](/properties/andhra-pradesh/vijayawada/agricultural). Compare state processes: [Karnataka](/blog/farmland-buying-guide-karnataka), [Maharashtra](/blog/farmland-buying-guide-maharashtra), [Tamil Nadu](/blog/farmland-buying-guide-tamil-nadu). _This article is general information, not legal advice. Land laws and eligibility rules vary by Indian state and change over time -- verify current requirements with a local property lawyer before making any purchase decision._