Harish Rao demands Minister Ponguleti’s resignation over 22A land row

BRS leader T Harish Rao has demanded the resignation of Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy over the inclusion of lakhs of private properties in the 22A prohibited lands list. He vowed to escalate the issue in the Assembly and sought a white paper.

Hyderabad: The ongoing row over 22A (prohibited lands) list intensified, with BRS deputy floor leader and former Minister T Harish Rao demanding that Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy resign, taking moral responsibility for the fiasco. He said lakhs of private properties were included in the 22A prohibited land list, putting citizens through an unnecessary ordeal.

He demanded that Chief Minister Revanth Reddy remove the Revenue Minister from the Cabinet, failing which would strengthen suspicions of a joint conspiracy. He asserted that BRS would pursue the issue in the Assembly and legally hold those responsible accountable.

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Participating in a citizens’ protest in Malkajgiri demanding immediate cancellation of the list here on Tuesday, Harish Rao accused the Revanth Reddy government of creating problems instead of resolving them. He questioned why people should run from office to office to correct mistakes committed by the Congress government. “The government should take immediate measures to resolve the issue and restore normalcy,” he said, demanding an investigation into the issue and punishing those responsible.

He said the erstwhile Congress government abolished the Urban Land Ceiling (ULC) in 2008, following which several lands became patta properties and people had been living there for years. He stated that around 7,500 acres of exempted lands in Rangareddy, over 6,000 properties in Medchal and HMDA and HUDA lands were also included in the prohibited list.

Harish Rao alleged that people were being asked for up to 30 per cent of the land and development rights to remove properties from the list. He cited the case of a journalist Ashok of Tilaknagar, who discovered that his house was on the prohibited list only when he approached the sub-registrar to sell it.

The BRSLP deputy leader rejected Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy’s attempt to blame officials and asked who ordered the inclusion of the properties which never faced any issue in last 20 years. He demanded that the government remove the properties without applications or forcing people to visit government offices, and publish details of all properties included and subsequently removed in the public domain.

Harish Rao also sought a white paper on the entire issue. He said only genuine landholders’ properties should be removed from the prohibited list. He warned that BRS would oppose any attempt to regularise illegally occupied or disputed lands under the guise of removing the prohibited list.

“The Revenue Minister cannot escape from his responsibilities by blaming the officials and then apologising after putting people through such an unnecessary ordeal. He must resign,” he reiterated. He criticised the government’s 22A toll-free number for allegedly not functioning.

The former Minister alleged that the government was also neglecting Kalyana Lakshmi and Shaadi Mubarak schemes, pointing out that the previous BRS government had allocated Rs 2,600 crore compared to Rs 800 crore by the current Congress government. He said beneficiaries were receiving assistance after childbirth instead of at the time of marriage.

Malkajgiri MLA Marri Rajasekhar Reddy and several other BRS leaders also participated in the protest and extended their support to the local property owners.

నిషేధిత జాబితాలో భూములను పెట్టాలని చెప్పింది ఎవరు? దీనికి బాధ్యులు ఎవరు? తక్షణమే తేల్చాలి.

ప్రజల కష్టానికి కారణమైన మంత్రులు.. అధికారుల పేరు చెప్పి తప్పించుకుంటామంటే చూస్తూ ఊరుకోం.

లక్షల మందిని ఆగం చేసిన పొంగులేటి శ్రీనివాస్ రెడ్డి తక్షణమే నైతిక బాధ్యత వహించి తన మంత్రి పదవికి… pic.twitter.com/XWKwF67iDh

— Harish Rao Thanneeru (@BRSHarish) August 18, 2026