Revanth Government Discovers Land Can Be Frozen Politely

The Revanth Reddy government has found a permanent solution to Telangana’s land problem: freeze private property, allow the paperwork to mature, then appoint a committee to investigate why nobody can sell it. On 16 September, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy told the Assembly that nearly 98 lakh acres appeared on the prohibited list and promised a “permanent solution”. The list includes forest, government, assigned, endowment and Wakf land, disputed properties, and—because precision is apparently an optional extra—private land caught in the same survey number.

Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy supplied the administrative punchline. Survey No. 403 covers 1,288 acres; only two plots were reportedly under dispute, but the entire survey number was blocked. This is the governance equivalent of sealing an apartment complex because one resident cannot find the parking receipt. The minister called it an error. The state now appears to be discovering, in stages, that a survey number can contain more than two plots.

The figures have their own comic timing. Ponguleti said the Section 22-A list contained 1,02,05,250 acres as of 31 August, including 3,73,930 acres of private agricultural land and 1,94,543 acres of private non-agricultural land. The government also noted that the total had fallen from 1,02,52,690 acres in December 2023. A reduction of 47,440 acres is being presented as progress, although the remaining owners may still wish to mortgage, register or sell their property before the next review meeting.

On 27 September, the government ordered eligible private properties removed from the list. Ponguleti then promised that wider grievances would be cleared within 45 days, with government orders expected within a week. Telangana has now received a deadline for resolving the deadline. The Congress government did not inherit a clean land-record system; Dharani and earlier administrative decisions deserve scrutiny. But after two years, “we inherited it” is no longer a governing philosophy. Revanth promised change and delivered a new stage in the same paperwork drama. Telangana’s land has not yet been unfrozen; only the promise has been registered.