Hyderabad: In a major move to clear a long-pending backlog of land regularisation cases, Telangana govt has directed district collectors to dispose of all pending applications filed under GO No. 59 within a month, providing relief to thousands of applicants whose cases have remained unresolved for years.At a review meeting held at the secretariat on Friday, revenue minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy instructed officials to expedite scrutiny of applications seeking regularisation of encroached govt land holdings of up to 500 square yards. He, however, stressed that approvals should be granted only after thorough verification.
If irregularities or violations are detected during scrutiny, authorities should review the cases under the existing legal framework and take appropriate action, the minister said. The govt has directed officials to ensure comprehensive verification to avoid errors.The state govt had earlier introduced GO 58 and GO 59 to regularise encroached govt lands on which residential structures had come up. Under GO 58, encroachments of up to 80 square yards are regularised free of cost for the poor. Under GO 59, holdings above 80 square yards are regularised on payment of a prescribed penalty.Thousands of GO 59 applications have been pending with district collectors for nearly a decade.Reviewing the issue with revenue and registration department officials, Srinivas Reddy said the govt had issued memo No. 48030, in line with earlier GO Nos. 14, 22, 29 and 41, directing collectors to speed up scrutiny and disposal of pending applications.Officials have been instructed to examine eligibility, land records, the extent of land proposed for regularisation and all other relevant details before taking a final decision.The minister said the move was part of the govt’s efforts to fulfil assurances given by chief minister A Revanth Reddy in the assembly on Sept 16 on resolving issues relating to Section 22-A properties. He said the govt had been issuing a series of orders to address long-pending land and registration-related issues, and that this was the seventh such measure so far.According to Srinivas Reddy, the decision honours a commitment made by the govt during a short-duration discussion in the assembly and is intended to resolve problems that have troubled applicants for years. Many GO 59 applicants were forced to make repeated visits to govt offices as their applications remained pending for long periods, he noted.Applications that are the subject of court disputes will be decided strictly in accordance with judicial directions, the minister said.Section 22-A issuesSrinivas Reddy said the govt is working to resolve 10 to 12 issues linked to Section 22-A properties. A high-level committee was constituted within 24 hours of the chief minister’s assembly announcement to address these concerns.Since then, the govt has issued clarifications relating to GO 118 and GO 76, permitted registration of houses, plots and flats approved by GHMC, HMDA, DTCP and municipal authorities even if they were listed under Section 22-A, initiated disposal of long-pending urban land ceiling applications, addressed issues involving patta lands where NALA procedures remained incomplete, and has now ordered disposal of pending GO 59 applications.
