VIJAYAWADA: Moving to permanently resolve land disputes and ease property registration hurdles across Andhra Pradesh, Revenue, Registration, and Stamps Minister Anagani Satya Prasad announced new simplified guidelines to remove eligible lands from the Section 22A prohibited list.
Addressing a press conference at the Secretariat on Wednesday, Minister Satya Prasad stated that the government is issuing orders to dismantle complex processes introduced under the previous administration.
The new rules revoke all old conflicting circulars and end manual record entries to prevent illegal alterations, making ‘Webland 2.0’ the sole authorised database for agricultural land and placing centralised control of prohibited properties under the Inspector General of Registration and Stamps.
Under the updated framework, several categories of land will be removed from the 22A list, including lands assigned before June 18, 1954, temple or Waqf lands legally purchased in public auctions per Supreme Court orders, village service inams, and properties acquired through APSFC auctions. To curb arbitrary inclusions into the prohibited list, the Minister clarified that local authorities cannot unilaterally add large tracts of land without state approval; additions exceeding 1 acre in rural areas or 1,000 square yards in urban areas will now require explicit clearance from the state government.
Furthermore, the onus of proof has been shifted: the government, not the individual property owner, must prove that a piece of land belongs to the state.
Before placing any property under 22A, officials must complete a sub-division survey and issue a mandatory show-cause notice via registered post, digital delivery, and physical notice posting.
Citizens will receive 30 days to file objections and an additional 14 days to present legal arguments, after which a reasoned ‘speaking order’ must be issued.