BRS demands resignation of Telangana Revenue Minister over section 22A prohibited lands issue

The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) has called for Telangana's Revenue Minister, Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy, to resign over the inclusion of numerous landholdings in the prohibited list under Section 22A of the Registration Act. This occurred following a protest in Malkajigiri, where the BRS's Deputy Floor Leader, T. Harish Rao, demanded that the government cancel the list of lands marked as prohibited immediately.

Rao questioned why the government had included lands in the prohibited list after the Urban Land Ceiling Act was abolished in 2008. He alleged that thousands of Government Orders had been issued to add around 7,500 properties in Rangareddy district and more than 6,000 properties in Medchal to the prohibited list. These lands included exemptions, HMDA and HUDA lands, had also been added to the prohibited list.

Rao asserted that the lives of thousands of poor and middle-class families, who had purchased flats and plots, were now in distress due to this sudden inclusion. He questioned whether an apology would suffice to rectify the error and accused the ruling party leaders of demanding 30% of the land value as commission, alongside development rights, to get the lands removed from the prohibited category.

Rao insisted that responsibility for the mistake should not be passed off to officials, and demanded an explanation for who ordered the inclusion of these lands in the prohibited list.