TELANGANA: Nearly one crore acres to be barred from land transactions
HYDERABAD: The Telangana government is preparing to include nearly one crore acres of land in the “prohibited list”, making them ineligible for sale, registration, or transfer without official approval. The Revenue Department has compiled the list based on field-level data and the Bhumi Bharathi portal.
Officials said the move follows High Court directions to identify and lock such lands to prevent unauthorised transactions. The list includes government lands, NALA-converted areas, and private patta lands without passbooks.
Government land alone accounts for about 77 lakh acres, covering lands allotted to various departments, irrigation projects, roads, forest areas, and housing sites. The inclusion of certain private patta lands under Part B brings the total to around one crore acres.
Authorities clarified that all ownership rights remain with the government and that any transaction or transfer will require prior approval. The measure, they said, would help safeguard public land and reduce land-related disputes.
18 lakh acres of patta lands lack passbooks
Apart from government lands, around 18 lakh acres of agricultural land fall under the category of patta lands without issued passbooks. There are over 11 lakh such accounts recorded in Bhumi Bharathi. Since transactions on the portal require valid passbooks, these lands remain temporarily barred.
The list also includes over 3 lakh acres of NALA (non-agricultural land assessment) converted land. The High Court had earlier expressed concern over discrepancies in the earlier lists and directed the state to prepare a transparent, comprehensive record using field-level verification.
The Revenue Department has since compiled district-level and consolidated reports and is working to lock the prohibited lands on the Bhumi Bharathi portal permanently or temporarily, depending on the case.
Officials noted that this process would make it impossible to register government or disputed private lands in others’ names.Out of 2.5 crore acres recorded in the portal, authorities have issued patta passbooks for 1.53 crore acres of agricultural land, which remain open for legal transactions. The remaining one crore acres—comprising government, NALA, forest, endowment, and other departmental lands—will stay in the prohibited category.
