Telangana property registrations frozen for lakhs as 22A list triggers row

Thousands of property owners across Hyderabad, Rangareddy, Medchal-Malkajgiri and Sangareddy have been unable to register or sell land since early August after their properties appeared on a government list under Section 22A of the Registration Act. The list, meant to block sale of government, temple or Waqf land, ballooned to over 1 crore acres after officials used outdated records and marked entire survey numbers even when the dispute involved only a small patch. Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy apologised on August 17, admitting that old lists filed in court were passed on without correction.

The Opposition has demanded a judicial inquiry. BRS leader Harish Rao on Tuesday met affected families and called for a sitting High Court judge to investigate who added and removed properties from the list, and for a white paper on the issue. The BJP's Alleti Maheshwar Reddy termed it a scam and threatened to approach the Lokayukta, CBI and ED. The Assembly meets on September 7, where both parties have promised to raise the matter.

Chief Minister Revanth Reddy has ordered that those with existing registration slots be cleared within two days if the land is private. The government says 98 percent of entries have been removed, but Harish Rao contested this, citing hundreds of complainants still coming forward.