Harish Rao warns of Assembly disruption, siege Secretariat over 22A list

BRS deputy floor leader T Harish Rao on Sunday warned that the party would stall the Assembly and lay siege to the Secretariat if the government failed to withdraw genuine private properties from the 22A prohibited list.

Hyderabad: BRS deputy floor leader T Harish Rao on Sunday warned that the party would stall the Assembly and lay siege to the Secretariat if the government failed to immediately withdraw private properties from the 22A prohibited list. He questioned the indifference of Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi to the suffering of Telangana people, as Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy pursued real estate interests.

He vowed that the BRS would raise the issue during the upcoming Assembly session and stall it, if the government fails to remove genuine private properties from the 22A list. 

---

“If necessary, we will lay siege to the Secretariat. The BRS is ready for any form of struggle,” he declared.

Addressing a meeting organised by the BRS in support of residents of Tirumala Meadows, Lakshmi Ganapathi and Hemanagar colonies in Boduppal on Sunday, Harish Rao said registered houses and patta lands were being included in the prohibited list to facilitate collection of 30 per cent commissions. He said middle-class families had borrowed money and saved for years to build houses, but were now unable to sell or mortgage them.

Citing a resident’s account, he said a woman had been denied a bank loan to fund her children’s higher education because her house was entered in the 22A list.

The BRSLP deputy leader stated that the government was reviving provisions of the Urban Land Ceiling Act that had been repealed in 1998 and 2008 and using them to place patta lands under the prohibited category. Referring to the Revenue Minister’s apology, he demanded that the government remove the affected properties from the list without insisting on applications and take complete responsibility instead of blaming officials.

Harish Rao also alleged that the government had placed around 40 lakh acres across Telangana under the prohibited list, citing claims about large tracts in Yadadri Bhongir district and properties in Hyderabad. He questioned why people should approach government offices or submit applications to rectify an error committed by the government.

He questioned why the government was not initiating inquiries against officials responsible for such a disastrous decision, while ordering CID and vigilance probes into smaller issues involving opposition leaders.

Harish Rao also alleged that the government had removed the 22A prohibited list from the online Bhu Bharati registration portal, apart from blocking Hyderabad list to people. He questioned the government’s motive behind the blocking of the list and demanded that the complete list be restored in the public domain.