Ponguleti counters BRS and BJP on 22-A with records, video evidence

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Minister for Revenue Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy. File | Photo Credit: SIDDHANT THAKUR

Minister for Revenue Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy countered the allegations of Opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) over the inclusion of lands in the 22-A prohibited properties list, placing official records, registration data and video clips before the Telangana Legislative Assembly.

Initiating a short discussion on the Section 22-A of the Registrations Act, Mr. Ponguleti said the 22-A issue was not a recent development and that several disputed properties had been on the prohibited list for years.

“We inherited 22-A list from the BRS, which now is surprisingly making a hue and cry,” he said. The Minister also said the total extent of land under the 22-A list had declined from 1,02,52,690 acres when the Congress government assumed office on December 7, 2023, to 1,02,05,250 acres as on August 31, 2026, a reduction of 47,440 acres.

He said the system had been in existence since 2007 in the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh and had continued under the BRS government. The Minister attributed errors in the online publication of the 22-A data on December 3, 2025, to inconsistencies inherited from earlier land records and said the government had corrected the mistakes following directions from the High Court.

“If the BRS, in power for 10 years, had resolved the issue, which had existed since the days of the undivided State, this problem would not have arisen today,” he said, accusing the BRS leaders of raising allegations against the present government over a system they had themselves continued.

Rejecting the Opposition’s claim that the 22-A issue had led to a decline in registration revenue, Mr. Ponguleti said the State had recorded an increase of ₹1,359 crore during the first five months of the current financial year.

Revenue from registrations rose from ₹6,216 crore between April and August 2025 to ₹7,575 crore during the corresponding period in 2026, he said.

The Minister also alleged that the previous BRS government had facilitated irregularities in the handling of land records through the Dharani portal. He cited several cases, including alleged changes in the classification of assigned, Bhoodan and government lands in Siddipet, Medak and Rangareddy districts.

He named BRS MLA Harish Rao’s father, BRS MLAs Palla Rajeshwar Reddy annd Gangula Kamalakar among others as illegal beneficiaries. He cited alleged removal of 4.32 acres from the 22-A list in Velikatta village, Kondapak mandal, in August 2023, benefiting the family of Mr. Harish Rao’s maternal uncle, Madhavaram Hanumantha Rao.

The Minister also referred to alleged irregularities involving 372.32 acres of Inam land in Sikindlapur, Medak district, and said the matter was pending before the Narsapur RDO after earlier orders were cancelled.

He further referred to alleged transactions involving Bhoodan lands in Vattinagulapalli, disputed land at Shankar Hills, assigned land in Munaganoor and defence-related land at Thumkunta. In the Shankar Hills case, he alleged that prohibited lands had been removed from the records and transactions facilitated during the previous regime.

The Minister said registrations in the disputed lands had been blocked after the Congress government assumed office.

Mr. Ponguleti said the High Court had directed the government to organise the 22-A list under categories A, B, C, D and E, following which the data was placed in the public domain on December 3, 2025.

He said the government had acknowledged errors in the inherited land records and acted on complaints received after the online data update. A call centre set up to address grievances. Assembly was later adjourned for Wednesday.

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