Telangana adds another Special Enquiry Team to probe Dharani and Bhu Bharathi

With the Telangana Cabinet recently deciding to constitute a Special Enquiry Team (SET) to probe alleged irregularities in the Dharani and Bhu Bharathi platforms, the Revanth Reddy government has added yet another investigation to an already expanding list of probes.

While including Bhu Bharati appears intended to pre-empt allegations of a one-sided  political exercise, the latest decision also fits a broader pattern of commissions, Special Investigation Teams (SITs), vigilance inquiries and anti-corruption probes, with no tangible outcome.

The SET will examine the entire lifecycle of the land management system, from Dharani’s tendering process in 2020 to the present-day Bhu Bharathi portal, following forensic audits and pilot studies in Siddipet and Medak



districts.

The Congress maintained that these inquiries are essential to establish accountability and recover public money. However, the BRS argued that the government has increasingly relied on investigations as a political strategy to keep the previous regime under sustained attack rather than focusing on governance.

The timing of the latest SET is politically significant. It came amid growing criticism over drought conditions, irrigation and drinking water crisis, power shortages, coal availability, unemployment, farmers’ distress and delays in implementing key poll promises. The Opposition has repeatedly accused the government of responding to these challenges with fresh accusations and investigations against the previous government instead of focusing on policy interventions and addressing people’s issues.