Hyderabad: Chief minister A Revanth Reddy on Tuesday held a high-level review meeting with ministers and senior officials to discuss the ongoing controversies surrounding Section 22A prohibited lands in the state.Sources told TOI that the meeting decided that the CM would explain to the public the facts relating to Section 22A lands, including issues that existed during the previous BRS govt’s tenure. The possibility of ordering a high-level inquiry into the issue, constituting a committee, and providing relief to owners of genuine private properties was also discussed.“The chief minister will speak on the Section 22A lands issue in the assembly on Wednesday. It was decided to place the facts before the public from the floor of the House and expose the BRS’s alleged misleading campaign that one crore acres had been brought under Section 22A. In reality, only around two lakh applications have been submitted by private property owners regarding the issue, while the rest comprise various categories of govt land listed under the prohibited category,” a source said.Officials gave a PowerPoint presentation on Section 22A lands and the related issues to the CM at his camp office on the MCR HRD Institute campus. Revenue minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy, Irrigation minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy, IT and Industries minister D Sridhar Babu, Energy minister G Vivek and Health minister Damodar Rajanarasimha attended the meeting.The high-level briefing was part of the govt’s preparations for the ongoing monsoon session of the assembly. The govt has extended the session to enable the CM to make a detailed statement on the Section 22A land issue in the House on Wednesday.Revanth met ministers and revenue officials to formulate a course of action regarding lands listed under Section 22A of the prohibited properties list. He directed officials to ensure that genuine private property owners and ordinary citizens do not face injustice or harassment due to registration restrictions.The CM also expressed suspicion that certain opposition elements were attempting to use the controversy to facilitate the removal of encroached or illegally occupied lands from the prohibited list. He directed officials to compile comprehensive data on Section 22A lands across all districts and analyse entries made during both the current and previous administrations.
