Seven castes hold 51.4% land in Telangana
HYDERABAD: A caste census survey has found that more than half of the total land in the state 51.4% is owned by just seven castes.
Reddy, Yadav, Lambadi, Mudiraj, Munnuru Kapu, Kuruma and Koya communities together account for 32% of the state’s population but hold a majority share of land. In contrast, several other communities possess land below their population proportion.
The survey shows that around 25 castes own land in excess of their population share, while the remaining groups have less land compared to their population size.
The OC Reddy community, which forms only 4.8% of the population, holds the highest share at 13.5% of total land.
Ownership patterns across communities
In the BC-B category, Kuruba Kuruma community records the highest land ownership, with over 62% of families owning land. This is followed by BC-D Arevallu, ST Koya, Lambadi, and SC Madiga communities, where about 60% of families own some land.
In the OC category, Rajus, Muslims, Jains, Brahmins and Iyengars report less than 10% of families owning land.
Among land-owning families in OC Rajus, Brahmins, Kapus, and ST Gonds and Koyas, around 30% hold between five and 20 acres.
Small and large holdings
In SC Beda and Madiga communities, nearly 90% of families own less than five acres.
Families owning more than 20 acres are highest among OC Jains at 8.2%, followed by Rajus at 7.5%, Brahmins at 6.8%, and BC Gangiredlavaru at 6%.
Population vs land share (in %)
- OC Reddy: Population 4.8 | Land 13.5
- BC-D Yadav: 5.7 | 8.7
- ST Lambadi: 6.8 | 8.6
- BC-D Mudiraj: 7.4 | 7.8
- SC Madiga: 10.3 | 6.5
- Munnuru Kapu: 3.9 | 6.4
- Kuruba Kuruma: 2.2 | 3.6
- ST Koya: 1.2 | 2.8
- Muslim (Sheikh): 7.9 | 2.0
- OC Kamma: 1.2 | 1.4
- OC Velama: 0.4 | 1.0
