Telangana’s Dharani put on hold due to legal issues

The Telangana government has been busy collecting information through a survey, from the people of the state, where it is taking information like Aadhar card, caste, property and other details. The government has also been sharing these details on the Dharani Portal.

Now, the Telangana High Court has objected to the government’s plan and decision of putting up these details on the Dharani Portal, as these details even include non-agricultural properties owned by people. The HC has also asked the government to refrain from conducting the survey in which the government is collecting personal details, for now.

The Telangana HC further asked the government to not share any personal information of the people on the Dharani Portal, and has asked the government to safeguard the privacy of the people of the state. This verdict came after a petition was filed in the High Court, in which it was stated that the government was violating the privacy of the people of the state, by uploading their personal information, including non-agricultural properties on the Dharani Portal.

The petitioners G R Karunakar of Rangareddy district and CV Narayana Rao, in their petition, stated that the details uploaded by the government on the portal could be accessed by anyone, and this poses a great threat to the privacy and security of any individual. Fact remains that the Telangana government’s decision to collect and publish these details on a portal is not approved by any executive instruction, and not signed by the State Governor or by a statute.