HYDERABAD — In a fiery rebuttal that mixed data with defiance, Telangana Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy stood before the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday armed with documents, registration figures, and video clips. His mission: to dismantle allegations from the Opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) regarding the controversial Section 22-A prohibited properties list.

Key facts

  • Land under 22-A list reduced by 47,440 acres since Congress took office
  • Registration revenue increased by ₹1,359 crore in first five months of FY 2026
  • System has existed since 2007 in undivided Andhra Pradesh

A Legacy Issue, Not a New Crisis

Ponguleti didn't just defend his government's actions—he turned the tables completely. "We inherited the 22-A list from the BRS," he stated, his tone carrying the weight of revealed irony. "They now make a hue and cry over a system they maintained for years."

The numbers told a compelling story: from 1,02,52,690 acres when Congress assumed power on December 7, 2023, the prohibited list had shrunk to 1,02,05,250 acres by August 31, 2026. That 47,440-acre reduction wasn't just statistics—it represented thousands of properties freed from bureaucratic limbo.

Revenue Tells the Real Story

While opponents claimed the 22-A controversy was choking registration revenue, the minister produced figures that suggested otherwise. Between April and August 2025, registrations brought in ₹6,216 crore. During the same period in 2026? ₹7,575 crore—a surge of ₹1,359 crore that spoke louder than any political accusation.

Unearthing Past Irregularities

Then came the allegations that landed like carefully aimed strikes. Ponguleti accused the previous BRS government of manipulating land records through the Dharani portal, citing specific cases across Siddipet, Medak and Rangareddy districts.

He named names—BRS MLA Harish Rao's father, MLAs Palla Rajeshwar Reddy and Gangula Kamalakar among others—as alleged beneficiaries of questionable land transactions. One case involved 4.32 acres in Velikatta village allegedly removed from the 22-A list to benefit Harish Rao's maternal uncle just months before the government changed.

"If the BRS, in power for 10 years, had resolved the issue, which had existed since the days of the undivided State, this problem would not have arisen today."

The minister's words hung in the chamber, challenging a decade of governance with a single sentence.

Cleaning House After the Storm

Ponguleti acknowledged the December 3, 2025 online publication of 22-A data contained errors—but attributed them to inconsistencies inherited from previous land records. Following High Court directions to categorize the list under A through E classifications, the government had corrected mistakes and established a call center for grievances.

Most significantly, he revealed that registrations in disputed lands had been blocked since Congress took office, suggesting a government determined to clean up what it found.