The Telangana BJP has demanded an inquiry by a sitting judge into issues surrounding Section 22A of the Registration Act, while the state government said a forensic audit report and a separate audit report would be made public shortly.
The demand was raised by BJP floor leader Aleti Mahesh Reddy during a short discussion on Section 22A in the Telangana Assembly on Saturday. The discussion was accompanied by repeated interventions from members of the treasury benches and ministers.
Mahesh Reddy questioned why a forensic report on the matter had not yet been released. He also asked why the government had not conducted a comprehensive audit of the affected lands, reported the matter to the Comptroller and Auditor General, or initiated action against officials allegedly responsible for irregularities.
“The revenue minister himself is acknowledging the flaws. If that is the case, why was a comprehensive audit of the lands not conducted? Why was the matter not reported to the CAG? Why has action not been initiated against the erring officials?” he asked in the Assembly.
The BJP leader drew parallels between the previous BRS government’s Dharani land records system and the current Bhu Bharati system. He questioned why the Congress government was involved in a controversy over Section 22A instead of addressing what he described as errors inherited from the earlier system.
Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy rejected the suggestion that the matter had not been reported to the CAG. He said it had been reported and that an audit report would be released shortly.
The minister also said the forensic audit report was with the Special Enquiry Team, or SET. According to him, the report would be made available as soon as possible and shared with the public. “Once the report comes, it will be discussed in the House,” he said.
Section 22A is central to the dispute because it concerns restrictions on the registration of specified categories of land. Questions over the provision can affect land transactions, the examination of property records and the ability of owners or prospective buyers to establish whether a parcel is eligible for registration. The Assembly discussion therefore linked an administrative process to wider concerns over property rights and access to land records.
During the discussion, Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, ministers D. Sridhar Babu, Ponnam Prabhakar, Adluri Laxman and Vakiti Srihari, along with other legislators, intervened repeatedly, according to the report.
Mahesh Reddy alleged that senior officials were involved in some of the cases and demanded action against those responsible. He also questioned whether the government was reluctant to order a probe into an issue he said affected 50 lakh vulnerable citizens. That figure and the allegations raised in the House are yet to be assessed through the reports cited by the government.
The next formal step is the release of the audit and forensic reports. The revenue minister said the findings would be made public and subsequently discussed in the Assembly.
