22-A restrictions hit Hyderabad property owners
HYDERABAD: Deepala Subbarao, a private-sector employee, bought a second-sale flat measuring 1,115 sq ft in Peerzadiguda for ₹ 31 lakh three months ago. He paid ₹ 3 lakh from his savings and took a bank loan of ₹ 26 lakh.
The bank sanctioned the loan about two months ago and Subbarao has been paying the monthly instalments. But registration of the flat remains stalled.
When he approached the seller, Subbarao was told that the land on which the apartment stands had been included in the prohibited properties list. Registration officials told him that the process could be completed only after the required clearance was obtained from the tahsildar’s office.
Subbarao said he has been making repeated visits to the sub-registrar’s office but has no idea when the registration will be completed.
Private properties caught in prohibited land records
Subbarao is among property owners in the Hyderabad metropolitan region facing registration problems after their properties figured in prohibited lists.
People who saved for years to buy a house, apartment or plot are now under pressure as registrations remain stalled. Owners seeking to sell property to meet financial requirements are also facing hurdles.
Registration officials are asking affected owners to obtain the necessary clearance from the district administration or tahsildar’s office to establish that the properties are privately owned.
The prohibited list is intended to cover categories of land on which registrations are barred, including assigned land, land belonging to the state and central governments and properties belonging to the endowments and other institutions.
Revenue officials are expected to have clear records identifying such land and distinguishing it from adjoining private patta land.
Suresh, a private employee, is among those affected. He had agreed to sell his house to another person and received an advance. Though a slot was booked for registration, the transaction could not go through after revenue records showed the land in the prohibited list.
Suresh questioned how the property could now face registration restrictions when the records were found to be in order when he purchased it.
Land survey errors leave owners in uncertainty
Property owners allege that errors crept into records during a land survey conducted a few months ago and that some field-level surveys were not carried out properly.
One such dispute has surfaced in Narapally in Ghatkesar mandal. According to the source copy, 121.30 acres there is recorded under the endowments category.
The source says the government had earlier regularised and sold about 11 acres out of this land through a government order, while the remaining land in different survey numbers continued under another category. Property owners allege that the records were subsequently clubbed together while imposing restrictions on fresh transactions.
This has caused concern among people who bought land and constructed houses there. They question why properties sold through government orders years ago and on which taxes have been collected should now be brought under the prohibited list.
According to the source, nearly one lakh acres in Hyderabad and Rangareddy areas are believed to have been brought under Section 22-A restrictions.
Revenue officials, including tahsildars and surveyors, need comprehensive information on assigned, government, endowment and other restricted lands as well as private patta lands adjoining them, affected property owners said.
Errors bring government criticism
Questions are also being raised over errors and incomplete surveys carried out during the revision of government land records.
The exercise was intended to identify government land and protect it from encroachment. However, affected owners allege that errors by some revenue officials have resulted in private properties being caught in the prohibited lists.
They have sought a comprehensive review of the records and a mechanism to allow transactions involving genuine private land adjoining assigned, endowment and other restricted properties.
The registration department is also losing revenue because of the restrictions.
According to an official cited in the source copy, Narapally sub-registrar’s office used to handle an average of about 100 registrations a day seven months ago. The number has now fallen to around 30-50 a day.
Property owners protest at Narapally office
Affected property owners staged a protest under the banner of the Telangana Realtors Association outside the Narapally sub-registrar’s office on Wednesday against the inclusion of private properties in the prohibited list.
The protesters raised slogans against the state government.
Association president Naragoni Praveen Kumar said the inclusion of private properties in the prohibited list was affecting poor and middle-class families.
He said people who had bought land and houses years ago were now unable to sell them even to meet expenses for children’s education, weddings or medical treatment.
Praveen Kumar demanded action against officials responsible for erroneous surveys. He said the issue had remained unresolved for three-and-a-half months and criticised the government for failing to address it.
He demanded that private patta lands be immediately removed from the prohibited list and registrations be allowed.
Ponguleti orders timely disposal of applications
Revenue minister Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy has directed district collectors to examine applications relating to prohibited properties and dispose of them within the prescribed timeframe.
At a meeting with senior officials, the minister said eligible applicants should receive relief while government land must also be protected.
He directed officials to scrutinise land parcels included in the prohibited list and identify properties eligible for relief under the rules.
Applications received at the tahsildar, additional collector and collector levels should be examined comprehensively and genuine applicants given relief, he said.
The minister also directed officials to act on petitions received through Prajavani.
He said disputes concerning properties in prohibited lists should be processed within the timeframe stipulated by the high court and final decisions taken after completing the prescribed procedure.
