HYDERABAD: Apologising to those who faced difficulties due to the mistakes made by officials, Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy on Monday acknowledged errors in updating the prohibited lands list and announced the constitution of a high-level committee to resolve issues relating to lands included under Section 22-A of the Registration Act.
He said the committee would meet once a week to review applications and related issues and take appropriate decisions.
The minister held a review meeting at the Secretariat with collectors, additional collectors, RDOs, registrars and sub-registrars of Hyderabad, Rangareddy, Sangareddy and Medchal-Malkajgiri districts.
Later, speaking to reporters, Srinivasa Reddy apologised to the public on behalf of officials for difficulties caused by errors in land records. He assured that privately owned properties would be removed from the Section 22-A prohibited list wherever they had been wrongly included.
Its govt’s responsibility to find a solution: Ponguleti
The minister said details of certain lands removed from the prohibited list by officials in the past following high court orders had not been properly updated, resulting in the properties continuing to figure in the list. “We will not shift the blame onto officials and leave the issue unresolved. The government will take responsibility for finding a solution,” he said.
Srinivasa Reddy said the problem was particularly acute in the four districts, with 511 applications pending in Medchal-Malkajgiri district alone. He directed officials to dispose of all pending Section 22-A applications in the other districts by the end of this month. Officials were also told to increase registration slots, if necessary, to speed up registrations.
Where registration was not possible, officials must clearly explain the reasons to applicants. He also directed that registration fees be refunded in accordance with rules wherever registration could not be undertaken. He said a comprehensive report would be prepared on Bhoodan lands in the state, covering pending issues, disputes and possible solutions. He said the ULC list was also being corrected and officials had been instructed to take action within two days in cases involving genuine landowners.
Referring to a land-related issue in Hyderabad district, the minister said the Survey Department had issued TSLR and survey numbers for a property, while the GHMC had its own records. Problems arose while superimposing the two sets of records and steps were being taken to resolve them.
“In Rangareddy district, where a 12-acre parcel contained two acres identified as Bhoodan land, the entire 12 acres had been included in the Section 22-A prohibited list. Similar issues were found in certain Endowments and forest lands,” he said.
Srinivasa Reddy said officials had been directed to use geo-tagging to identify the portions actually affected, facilitate registration of eligible properties and freehold the remaining land. The minister also directed officials to resolve issues concerning private lands in Alwyn and Asbestos Colony areas of Hyderabad by properly segregating the properties so that eligible lands faced no hurdles in registration.
