Ponguleti’s 22-A Escape Hatch Has No Survey Number

Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy has found the one land parcel Telangana’s registration system can never lose: responsibility. It is permanently entered under “previous government”, exempt from mutation, correction and every known form of administrative ownership.

The 22-A controversy began with genuine private properties appearing on the prohibited list, leaving owners unable to register or transact. Ponguleti apologised for the hardship and blamed official errors. Then, when the Assembly demanded an explanation, the filing was updated: the Congress government inherited 1,02,52,690 acres under Section 22-A on 7 December 2023 and reduced it to 1,02,05,250 acres by 31 August 2026. A reduction of 47,440 acres was presented as evidence of action. The citizens whose land remains blocked may enjoy the statistic from outside the registration office.

The minister’s classification is impressively precise: 96,36,777 acres of government agricultural land, 3,73,930 acres of private agricultural land, 1,94,543 acres of non-agricultural land and 5,12,792 acres of endowment land. The spreadsheet is doing heroic work. It is being asked to prove that a family’s property is not a problem because several lakh other acres are also in the problem. This is not exactly the citizen-friendly revenue administration Congress promised. It is citizen-facing administration, in the same way a locked gate faces the public.

Ponguleti has promised solutions for colonies caught in disputes involving urban land ceiling, assigned land and government classification. That promise is welcome. But the public has already received the full ceremonial package: apology, inherited mess, official explanation and a long speech. What is missing is the unglamorous part in which a lawful owner’s record is corrected before another committee discovers the same error.

The Congress government arrived promising a change in functioning. On 22-A, it has delivered continuity with improved narration. The land list was revised; the blame list was not.