The 22-A Government Has Prohibited Everything Except Accountability

The Telangana government has discovered the ideal administrative formula for a land mess: apologise on Wednesday, blame the previous government on Saturday, and promise a “permanent solution” on Monday. Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy first acknowledged mistakes in the Section 22-A prohibited-properties list and apologised for the hardship caused to property owners. During the Assembly debate on September 12, the explanation acquired a historical costume: this was now chiefly a legacy of the BRS government.

This is not a U-turn. It is a revenue-department roundabout. Ponguleti cited 96,61,026 acres under Section 22-A when Congress came to power and put the current figure at 1,02,05,250 acres, including 3,73,930 acres of private agricultural land and 1,94,543 acres of private non-agricultural land. The political message was elegant in its simplicity: if the problem existed before Congress arrived, nobody currently holding the file can be blamed. By that standard, a pothole dug in 2016 remains a legacy pothole until 2030, and a wrong entry uploaded yesterday becomes ancient history after one Assembly debate.

BRS leader T Harish Rao asked the more inconvenient question: how many acres were added after Congress took office, and when would they be removed? The reported answer supplied history, acreage and the usual governmental weather system, but no clear timeline for relief. That is the difference between governance and PowerPoint archaeology. One identifies what happened and fixes it. The other projects an inherited number on a screen and waits for applause for surviving the inheritance.

Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has promised a permanent solution, while the government says disputed private-patta land has fallen from 7.91 lakh acres in 2020 to 3.73 lakh acres in 2026. A smaller spreadsheet is useful. It is not the same as an owner being able to sell, register or use the land. For a family staring at a blocked record, “reduction” is not relief; it is arithmetic with better publicity.

Congress promised a different way of governing Telangana. On 22-A, it has delivered three explanations, one inherited problem and no published finish line. The land is prohibited; accountability is permanently under process.