22A errors, 30% asks — answer this
Harish Rao alleges 30% ‘commission’ to clear 22A bans; the Congress government in Telangana admits private owners were hit by errors, promises fixes. The numbers and the paper trail are the test — not another assurance.
The 22A dispute now turns on the files, the numbers and the reasons for each decision.
BRS leader T. Harish Rao has alleged that intermediaries and officials are demanding up to 30% of market value to remove properties from the Section 22A prohibited list — and has sought Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy’s removal, even copying in Rahul Gandhi. According to a report, he put the 30% figure on record and said the BRS would back complainants who faced such demands.
The Congress government’s own minister has conceded there were errors: Ponguleti acknowledged that private property owners were wrongly hit by 22A and announced corrections, a high-level review and time-bound disposal. He has also told sub-registrars to stop playing gatekeeper and to rely on verifiable online records, with reasons given for any rejection. Which is another way of saying the system wasn’t working as advertised.
Here’s what is established, and what isn’t. Rao’s 30% claim is his allegation; the letter he allegedly sent Rahul Gandhi hasn’t been published. Ponguleti’s admission that private properties were affected is on the record, as are his directions for scrutiny and document uploads. What’s missing is the audit trail: how many properties were wrongly listed, how many were removed, who ordered the additions, who cleared the removals, and on what grounds.
The state’s own portals say there’s a grievance route and public search for prohibited lands. Good — publish the queue, the decisions, the reasons and the officer signing each one. If the BJP wants a scandal and the Congress wants it to go away, there’s a simpler standard: show the files. Until then, the 22A mess is admitted, the 30% is alleged, and the Congress-run government owes the paper, not another promise.