Lands allotted to former and serving defence personnel, freedom fighters, political sufferers, assigned land before 18 June 1954, and private patta lands have been freed from the restrictions.
Published Jan 02, 2026 | 10:22 PM ⚊ Updated Jan 02, 2026 | 10:22 PM
Minister for Revenue, Registration and Stamps Anagani Satya Prasad said decisions on four more land categories would be made shortly after discussions.
Synopsis: Section 22-A of the Registration Act, 1908, empowers the state to prohibit registration of certain categories of land deemed against public policy. While the provision was meant to protect public and vulnerable lands, it became a double-edged sword.
In a move touted as a “New Year gift to the people,” the Andhra Pradesh government on Thursday, 1 January, removed five major categories of land from the list of prohibited properties under Section 22-A of the Registration Act.
The decision marked the opening chapter of what the government has called the “Land Governance Year.”
Minister for Revenue, Registration and Stamps, Anagani Satya Prasad, signed the first official file of the New Year to give effect to the decision. “The decision was taken to undo years of hardship caused to genuine landowners. We are correcting wrongs. Landowners have suffered enough,” the minister said.
Lands allotted to former and serving defence personnel, freedom fighters, political sufferers, assigned land before 18 June 1954, and private patta lands have been freed from the restrictions.
In another significant reform, the government addressed a long-standing anomaly where entire survey numbers were placed under the prohibited list due to disputes over small portions.
Officials have been instructed to subdivide survey numbers, retain only the disputed portion under Section 22-A, and release the remaining land. For thousands of landowners, this correction is nothing short of a lifeline.
Prasad said decisions on four more land categories would be made shortly after deliberations in a Group of Ministers (GoM) meeting. These include conditional patta lands, service inam lands, dotted lands that were earlier removed but re-included during resurvey, and dotted lands that were never removed from the prohibited list.
The minister issued instructions to revenue officials not to demand too many documents from applicants. For the five categories now cleared, the presence of any one among nearly eight types of records would be sufficient to remove land from the 22-A list.
These include recommendations by the District Sainik Welfare Officer, entries in the 10(1) Register, adangals (land records with the government), old revenue records such as SFA records, assignment registers, DR files, record of holdings, registration documents, 8-A registers, or DKT pattas.
“People should not be made to run from pillar to post. One valid document is enough,” the minister said.
The government also announced action against fake and fraudulent registration documents. Such registrations will be cancelled, signalling a crackdown on benami dealings and forged records that flourished in recent years.
Officials said this step is crucial to cleanse land records and prevent future disputes.
Section 22-A of the Registration Act, 1908, empowers the state to prohibit registration of certain categories of land deemed against public policy.
These include government lands, assigned lands meant for the landless poor, endowed properties, and disputed lands. Once listed under 22-A, land becomes virtually frozen. It cannot be sold, transferred, mortgaged, or even inherited through registration.
While the provision was meant to protect public and vulnerable lands, it became a double-edged sword.
The TDP alleged that under the previous YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) government (2019–2024), the provision was misused. Private patta lands, ancestral properties, and non-disputed holdings were allegedly added arbitrarily to the prohibited list. Over 20 lakh acres were reportedly frozen, affecting millions of families across Andhra Pradesh.
Irregularities also came to light, including the illegal exclusion of 4.5 lakh acres from the ban and unauthorised registrations of nearly 7,000 acres. What was meant to be a safeguard turned into a chokehold.
The fallout was severe. Farmers and middle-class families found their most valuable asset reduced to dead capital. Lands could not be mortgaged for crop loans, education, medical emergencies, or business needs. Sales and inheritances were blocked. Families were pushed into disputes. Properties purchased decades ago were suddenly flagged, leaving owners trapped in legal quicksand.
Marginalised communities — SCs, STs, BCs, and small farmers — bore the brunt. Assigned lands, their primary source of livelihood, were entangled in red tape. In urban centres like Visakhapatnam and Tirupati, even apartment complexes and industrial plots were affected, stalling development and scaring away investment.
Allegations also surfaced that some lands were added to the 22-A list to coerce owners into selling at throwaway prices to politically connected proxies. Those who resisted faced years of petitions and silence. Trust in land records eroded, corruption thrived, and grievances piled up.
Land issues became a rallying cry in the 2024 Assembly and Lok Sabha elections. While the Andhra Pradesh Land Titling Act took centre stage, misuse of Section 22-A formed a key strand of the opposition’s campaign.
The TDP–Jana Sena Party–BJP alliance accused the YSRCP of weaponising land laws to target farmers, political rivals, and ordinary citizens.
The promise to dismantle “land scams” and restore fair governance struck a chord, especially in rural constituencies where land is not just property but it is an identity.
The electoral verdict was decisive. Post-victory, the TDP-led new government launched inquiries into past irregularities and began the process of unfreezing lands.
Thursday’s announcement is being seen as the first step towards a long clean-up drive. With more categories under review, expectations are high. It remains to be seen if the state government will rise to the expectations of the people.
(Edited by Majnu Babu).
