SOURCE :- SIASAT NEWS
Hyderabad: Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) deputy floor leader Harish Rao on Tuesday, August 18, demanded the resignation of Telangana Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy over the 22A prohibited lands issue.
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 include government lands, endowment lands, and properties under dispute and are listed under Section 22A of the Registration Act.
Srinivas Reddy had apologised over the confusion on Monday, saying that the mess was created due to the mistakes of revenue officials who sent the prohibited properties list 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 under the prohibited list, he said.
He had announced the formation of a high-level committee to resolve all issues concerning patta lands. He also announced a toll-free number (1800 5994788) for information regarding prohibited lands. People contacting the helpline will receive a response in three days, along with action taken for resolution, he said.
Most of the cases have been reported from Medchal, with 511 applications received for regularisation, followed by 146 in Rangareddy, 49 in Hyderabad, and 38 in Sangareddy. In all, 757 applications have been received by the government.
Harish Rao demands removal of properties without harassing owners
Addressing a protest in Malkajgiri demanding the immediate cancellation of the 22A prohibited lands list, Harish Rao demanded that the government immediately remove all wrongly listed properties without asking people to run between government offices.
“If you placed the properties in the prohibited list, you must remove them. Correct the mistake in the same manner in which it was made. Do not make citizens submit applications or run from office to office for an error committed by the government,” Harish Rao said.
He accused the Congress of creating widespread confusion and anxiety among lakhs of property owners by adding entire colonies and large numbers of properties to the prohibited list without proper verification.
“A government that is supposed to solve people’s problems is creating new problems. If entire colonies are suddenly placed under Section 22A, where should ordinary people go? Should citizens be made to run around government offices and wear out their footwear to correct mistakes made by the government?” he asked.
He alleged that lands covered by exemptions issued through various government orders, including around 7,500 lands in Rangareddy district and more than 6,000 properties in Medchal, along with Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) and Hyderabad Urban Development Authority (HUDA) lands, had also been included in the prohibited list.
“People often do not even know that their property has been placed on the prohibited list until they approach the Sub-Registrar’s office to sell it. One does not know how many lakhs of houses and plots have been included in this list,” Harish Rao said.
He cited the example of Ashok from Tilak Nagar, a journalist, who, according to Harish Rao, came to know that his property was on the prohibited list only when attempting to sell his 450-square-yard house.
He also alleged that there were serious complaints that landowners were being asked for a substantial share of land or development rights in order to have properties removed from the prohibited list.
“The government must immediately order an independent investigation and establish who included these properties in the prohibited list, on whose instructions they were included and who is now removing them,” he said.
He also alleged that the toll-free number provided by the government was non-functional.
CM’s house also on prohibited list
Referring to reports that Chief Minister Revanth Reddy’s own residence also figured in the 22A issue, Harish Rao said, “If even the chief minister’s house is facing this situation, did the revenue minister also ask the chief minister to submit an application and wait for the government to correct its mistake?”
Harish Rao demanded complete transparency in the 22A process and called for the government to publish in the public domain the details of all properties added to and removed from the prohibited list.
He also demanded a white paper covering the entire exercise, including the dates of inclusion, reasons for inclusion, orders issued, officials responsible and details of properties subsequently removed.
He said that while genuine landowners must be protected, BRS will not remain silent if the government used the 22A review process as a means to regularise illegally occupied or disputed lands.
He said the BRS would raise the issue in the Assembly and continue to fight on behalf of affected landowners. He added that Telangana Bhavan will always be open for people facing issues with their land.
SOURCE : SIASAT
