Hyderabad: Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MLA T Harish Rao on Thursday, August 22, wrote to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, drawing the latter’s attention to the prohibited lands in Telangana.
Rao sought Gandhi’s attention to the “governance crisis” in Telangana and said Section 22A, meant to safeguard against illegal registrations, is allegedly being used to arbitrarily freeze private properties, with allegations of a “30 per cent collection racket” and coercive 50:50 development agreements involving benami entities.
The Siddipet MLA said that several properties, including the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) and the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) approved layouts and long-standing patta lands, are reportedly affected across Hyderabad, Medchal, Malkajgiri, Ranga Reddy, Sangareddy and in all districts of Telangana.
Rao put forth demands including the immediate removal of Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy; an independent judicial inquiry by a retired High Court judge; a forensic audit of all Section 22A additions/removals since December 2023; an independent anti-corruption investigation; protection of bona fide property owners; and district-wise, survey-number-wise public disclosure.
On Wednesday, August 19, Rao demanded the resignation of Telangana Revenue Minister Ponguletti Srinivas Reddy. He said that ministers cannot shift the blame for their own decisions onto officials and that Srinivas Reddy should resign on moral grounds.
The issue arises from private lands being included in the state’s prohibited list, which makes them ineligible for sale, gift, or mortgage.
Prohibited lands must only include government lands, endowment lands, and properties under dispute, listed under Section 22A of the Registration Act.
Reddy had apologised over the confusion on Monday, saying that the mess was created due to an error on part of revenue officials who forwarded the list of prohibited properties to sub-registrars without removing genuine patta (private lands) from it.
For instance, he said that in Rangareddy, two out of 12 acres were recorded as Boodhan land; However, the entire 12 acres were placed on the prohibited list.
