Despite cases, corruption goes unabated in Adilabad’s Registrations department

The Registrations and Stamps Department in Adilabad continues to face rampant corruption, with Sub-Registrar Duppalapudi Ashok facing charges of accepting ₹7 lakh bribe. Officials reportedly register illegal layouts, causing significant revenue losses and raising concerns over weak monitoring and political pressure.

Adilabad: Rampant corruption continues to plague the Registrations and Stamps department in Adilabad, despite cases being booked against errant staff.

In the latest instance, three persons arrested for allegedly encroaching seven plots belonging to a local resident confessed to paying a Rs.7 lakh bribe to Adilabad Sub-Registrar Duppalapudi Ashok to facilitate the transfer of the asset in buyers’ names. Following the land scam’s exposure on Saturday, police launched a search to apprehend Ashok.

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Earlier, former Adilabad Sub-Registrar Srinivas Reddy was arrested by Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) sleuths for accepting a bribe of Rs.5,000 from an applicant for registering an asset gifted by his parents on August 22. He was subsequently transferred and replaced by Ashok, who now faces charges of involvement in the encroachment of house sites.

Despite such cases, corruption remains unchecked as certain Sub-Registrars and officials serving as in-charge Sub-Registrars in Nirmal, Mancherial, Luxettipet and other parts of the erstwhile Adilabad district are reportedly collecting between Rs.20,000 and Rs.50,000 per asset from realtors, with the help of local document writers.

Officials are even registering properties developed in illegal layouts, government lands and prohibited lands by blatantly violating norms in exchange for bribes. Their actions are facilitated by poor supervision from higher authorities, irregular auditing, and political pressure from local elected representatives.

“An MLA recently ordered a Sub-Registrar to register house sites in unauthorised layouts in Mancherial district. The official, unwilling to comply, opted to take long leave. Corruption is thriving in the department due to weak monitoring and lack of inspections by senior officials,” a source said.

Such practices are causing significant revenue loss to the State. For instance, developers of legal ventures are required to mortgage 10 per cent of land before selling plots and to pay conversion fees when changing land use from agricultural to commercial. However, when officials register plots in unauthorised layouts, the government loses both the mortgaged land and the conversion fee.

Registrations and revenue in erstwhile Adilabad

District 2022 (No/Revenue in Cr) 2023 (No/Revenue in Cr) 2024 (No/Revenue in Cr)

Adilabad 12,280 / Rs.79.80 crore 13,327 / Rs.62.35 crore 10,070 / Rs.32.35 crore
Nirmal 16,009 / Rs.48.92 18,695 / Rs.64.22 13,660 / Rs.29.74

Mancherial 23,326 / Rs.76.93 26,956 / Rs.72.51 17,883 / Rs.59.98
KB Asifabad 2,810 / Rs.7.90 2,385 / Rs.5.90 1,884 / Rs.4.90