Harish Rao Demands Ponguleti Resign Over 22A Prohibited Land List at Malkajgiri Protest

BRS deputy floor leader and former minister T Harish Rao on Tuesday demanded the resignation of Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy during a citizens' protest in Malkajgiri over the inclusion of lakhs of private properties in the 22A prohibited lands list. Harish Rao called on Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy to remove the Revenue Minister from the Cabinet if he fails to step down voluntarily.

The protest in Malkajgiri was organised to demand the immediate cancellation of the list. Malkajgiri MLA Marri Rajasekhar Reddy and several other Bharat Rashtra Samithi leaders joined the demonstration in support of local property owners.

Addressing the gathering, Harish Rao accused the state government of creating problems for citizens instead of resolving existing ones. He noted that after the erstwhile Congress government abolished the Urban Land Ceiling in 2008, several lands became patta properties where residents have lived for years. He stated that around 7,500 acres of exempted lands in Rangareddy, more than 6,000 properties in Medchal, and Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority and Hyderabad Urban Development Authority lands were added to the prohibited list.

Harish Rao alleged that property owners were being asked for up to 30 per cent of land and development rights to secure the removal of their properties from the list. He cited the case of a Tilaknagar resident named Ashok, who only discovered his house was placed on the prohibited list when attempting to sell the property at the sub-registrar office.

The BRS leader rejected the Revenue Minister's explanation attributing the issue to administrative officials, questioning who authorized the inclusion of lands that faced no disputes over the past two decades. He demanded that the government de-list properties without requiring owners to submit applications or visit offices, and called for the full details of affected and removed properties to be published publicly.

Demanding a white paper on the matter, Harish Rao stated that only genuine landholders should be cleared from the prohibited list. He warned that the BRS would oppose any effort to regularize illegally occupied or disputed parcels under the guise of list corrections, and stated that the party would raise the issue in the Legislative Assembly and seek legal remedies.