In Telangana, property owners locked out of their own land

In Telangana, numerous property owners are finding themselves unable to sell or register their land due to an unexpected inclusion on the prohibited list under Section 22A of the Registration Act. This issue arises only when owners attempt to complete a routine transaction at the Sub-Registrar Office (SRO).

For instance, Udayagiri Prasad, a 40-year-old mason from Narapally in Medchal-Malkajgiri district, discovered his 66.8-square-yard residential plot was on the prohibited list when he tried to sell it to repay a ₹10 lakh loan. Despite having all ownership documents, the SRO refused to register the sale. Similarly, Mekala Harshavardhan, 28, from Boduppal, encountered the same problem when his sister and brother-in-law, stationed in Kashmir, tried to register a 200 and 100 square yard plot in Survey No. 44, which was later found to be part of the prohibited list.

Other residents in Peerzadiguda and Alwal have also faced similar hurdles, with apartments and independent houses being affected. Section 22A aims to prevent the illegal registration of government lands, water bodies, forest lands, and other public assets. However, critics argue that poor land records and weak coordination between departments have led to genuine private lands being mistakenly included in the prohibited list.

Developers are also impacted, with some residential layouts approved by the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) being later added to the prohibited list, causing delays and additional costs for buyers. The Telangana Realtors Association has called for a comprehensive review of the prohibited list, alleging that legally owned private patta lands have been wrongly included due to administrative errors.

The association also mentions issues with registrations in newly developed colonies being withheld because the lands were classified as waqf properties.