Congress Finds One Permanent Solution: Blame The Past

The Congress government has discovered a revolutionary method of land administration: do not solve the prohibited-list crisis; reduce its percentage and hold a press conference. Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy told the Assembly that 1,02,05,250 acres remained on the Section 22-A list as of August 31, down from 1,02,52,690 acres when Congress took office in December 2023. A reduction of 47,440 acres has now been promoted as evidence of progress. At this rate, the government will soon announce that a locked house is effectively open because one window has been unlatched.

The government’s own figures are less interested in celebration. They include 3,73,930 acres of private agricultural land and 1,94,543 acres of private non-agricultural land. Owners cannot freely sell, register or deal with property that exists perfectly well on the ground but appears to have been placed in administrative witness protection. Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has promised a “permanent solution”, which is the bureaucratic cousin of “please check again next week”. No immediate relief was offered, but the phrase has been safely entered into the record.

When the apology became inconvenient, the explanation acquired a previous government. Ponguleti called the mess a legacy problem, while BRS deputy leader T Harish Rao asked the more irritating question: how much land was added after Congress came to power? The answer, apparently, was not available in the same convenient format as the historical total. Showing the patient’s old medical file when asked about today’s treatment is not transparency. It is paperwork wearing a hard hat.

Revanth Reddy has also ordered an inquiry into land linked to former chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao’s farmhouse, including the reported 700-acre holding. Investigate it fully if the records warrant it. But a probe into KCR’s property does not release a genuine owner’s property, just as saying “Dharani” repeatedly does not make a registration queue move. The Congress promised responsive government. On 22-A, it has delivered a familiar coalition of official regret, historical blame and statistical self-congratulation.

The land is still prohibited. The explanation is already freehold.