Telangana villages face home sales halt under 22A list
HYDERABAD: Thousands of houses and residential plots across Telangana have been included in the prohibited property list, halting sale and purchase transactions. Revenue officials prepared the list following High Court directions and allegedly added even non-agricultural residential properties under Section 22A.
Villages report large number of homes under prohibition list
Residents say an average of 200 to 300 houses in each village have been marked as prohibited. Many properties built decades ago by earlier generations now face registration hurdles. Registration offices show “red marks” against such assets, stopping transactions regardless of ownership history.
Complaints about prohibited properties form more than half the grievances received during public grievance meetings at district collectorates. Residents question the basis for placing entire residential zones in government land records without field verification.
Officials allegedly completed mapping exercises from offices without ground inspections. As a result, long-occupied houses were categorised overnight as assigned lands, ceiling lands, endowment lands or waterbody buffer zones.
Owners who have paid taxes for years and hold electricity connections now face demands for no-objection certificates at sub-registrar offices. Many say they are forced to spend days visiting tahsildar offices and collectorates without resolution.
Real estate activity slows as registration deadlock widens
Statewide, about 90 lakh acres across agricultural and non-agricultural categories are reportedly under the prohibited list. Estimates suggest nearly 18 lakh houses and 9 lakh house sites cannot be transacted due to mapping errors.
Residential areas covering roughly 3 lakh to 4 lakh acres, including village settlements and old layouts, remain locked in the deadlock. Real estate transactions worth thousands of crores have stalled, affecting stamp duty and registration revenues.
The impact is visible in rural and semi-urban markets, where buying and selling activity has largely stopped. Plotted ventures have also entered disputes, forcing buyers to approach builders for clarity.
In parts of erstwhile Ranga Reddy and Medchal districts, decades-old colonies have been listed under urban land ceiling or assigned land categories. In districts such as Nalgonda and Mahabubnagar, entire villages have been recorded as government land, pushing more than 150 houses per village into the prohibited list.
Registrations of hundreds of properties in Karimnagar and Warangal districts have also been halted due to overlapping claims involving endowment and Waqf lands.
Families face hardship as loans and sales become difficult
Poor families seeking to sell houses for medical expenses say the 22A provision has become a barrier. The list has also affected loans secured against property for weddings or higher education. Banks are rejecting loan applications citing prohibited status.
Residents say that properties registered until two months ago were suddenly categorised as prohibited, causing confusion and anxiety. Some labourers report turning to high-interest loans from intermediaries during emergencies.
Allegations of delays and bribes in removal process
Property owners say removing assets from the 22A list is a prolonged process. Applications reportedly remain pending for months, while intermediaries demand large sums for clearance.
Allegations have emerged that influential owners secure removal of their properties from the list quickly, while poorer applicants continue legal battles for years.
Village example highlights scale of problem
In a village near Jadcherla in Mahabubnagar district, survey numbers of house sites in the centre of the settlement were recorded as tank buffer zone land. Nearly 250 houses in the village were consequently included in the prohibited list.
Residents now face restrictions even in obtaining panchayat permission to rebuild old houses. Registration of property sales has also stopped.
Loan rejection stalls wedding plans
Srinivas, a small trader from Choppadandi in Karimnagar district, sought a ₹10 lakh bank loan for his daughter’s wedding by mortgaging his house. Bank scrutiny revealed that the survey number had been mistakenly placed under Waqf and endowment categories in the prohibited list. The manager declined the loan citing legal restrictions.
