BRS seeks judicial probe into 22-A irregularities

BRS working president K. T. Rama Rao demanded a judicial inquiry into alleged irregularities in Telangana’s 22-A prohibited lands list. He accused the Congress government of harassing property owners, sought removal of wrongly listed properties and demanded restoration of safeguards

Hyderabad: BRS working president K. T. Rama Rao on Tuesday demanded a judicial inquiry into the alleged irregularities in the 22-A prohibited lands list. He accused the Congress government of including private properties in the list to harass people and allegedly extract commissions of 30 per cent of the property value.

He demanded that colonies, apartments and houses purchased with people’s hard-earned money, if wrongly included in the prohibited list, be removed unconditionally and that the government apologise to the affected owners.

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Speaking to mediapersons in New Delhi, Rama Rao said the Congress government had failed to provide a satisfactory answer in the Assembly, with Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy merely apologising for the errors. “The mistake was committed by the government, not officials. It is not proper to shift the blame on officials without resolving people’s problems,” he said.

The former Minister termed the erstwhile Dharani system a safeguard against unauthorised transfers as it required the property owner’s fingerprints. He said properties were now being registered without the owners’ knowledge and subsequently placed on the prohibited list.

“This is not Bhu Bharati, but Bhu Harathi,” he said, demanding restoration of safeguards for property ownership. He also asked the ruling Congress to stop what he termed attempts to extract commissions.

On assigned lands, Rama Rao reminded the Congress of its promise to take a decision within 100 days of assuming power. He demanded that assigned lands of SCs and STs be regularised and ownership rights granted to them. He also alleged that certain Congress leaders were entering into agreements with landowners in advance in the name of issuing pattas.

He demanded a judicial inquiry into the 22-A issue to protect everyone’s interests. “The government committed the mistake, but people are suffering the punishment,” he said, adding that the Congress could not escape responsibility for what he termed its “crimes”.

The BRS working president accused the government of deliberately suspending party legislators to avoid answering issues raised by the principal Opposition in the Assembly. He said the party would continue taking up the 22-A issue and other land-related problems with the people despite the suspension of its legislators.

Referring to the alleged attack on his staff inside a police station, Rama Rao said the BRS had lost faith in the police and would approach the courts for justice.

On the proposed Uniform Civil Code, he said such a proposal was yet to take shape and that the party leadership would take a decision after internal consultations.