Hyderabad: Senior BRS leader T Harish Rao alleged a land scam worth nearly Rs 1,000 crore in Shamshabad, involving 170 acres of govt land in survey number 173 and 183 in Peddashapur village in Shamshabad mandal, which was illegally converted into private patta land. He demanded a detailed investigation into the alleged scam by the CID or SIT, suspension of the tahsildar, and restoration of of the land to the prohibited list.Addressing a press conference at Telangana Bhavan on Tuesday, Harish accused the Congress govt of failing to protect public assets while neglecting farmers and public welfare promises. He said the revenue divisional officer (RDO) had clearly identified the land as govt land and instructed the tahsildar to protect it from encroachment and include it in the prohibited list under Section 22-A. He added that the same was mentioned in an affidavit submitted before the Telangana high court on Jan 30, 2026.Harish said that the tahsildar himself confirmed on Feb 24 that the land belonged to the govt. However, within just four days, on Feb 28, the same tahsildar reportedly passed orders declaring the land as private property. “How did govt land suddenly become private land within four days?” Harish questioned. He alleged that despite contradictory reports from the RDO and tahsildar, the matter was still presented before the high court, raising serious doubts over the role of senior officials.He questioned how the collector approved such orders and how the advocate general cleared them despite the dispute involving valuable govt land. The former minister alleged that ACB officials had initially attempted to investigate the matter but later withdrew due to pressure from influential people in the govt. “Who are the powerful people protecting the MRO? Their names must come out,” he demanded.He also questioned how the land was entered into the Bhu Bharati online records without mandatory approvals from the RDO, as required under the law. Harish alleged that the mutation process was completed overnight and the entire 170 acres of govt land was illegally converted into private patta land. “If the govt is truly transparent and has no involvement in this land scam, it should immediately dismiss the officers and protect govt land,” he said.Meanwhile, reacting to the allegations, Rangareddy collector Narayan Reddy said the Peddashapur land was not converted into patta land on the Bhu Bharati portal. Giving details of the land, the collector said that land parcels in survey nos 172 to 183 were recorded as patta land in 1954-55 Khasra Pahani. The Rajendra Nagar land reforms tribunal and the revenue divisional officer, in Feb 2026, announced 74 acres in various survey numbers as ceiling surplus land and recorded them under prohibition 22-A.Some people had earlier approached the court after their names were not entered , and passbooks were not issued for 94 acres of land in the same survey numbers. There are three court cases, including a contempt case, filed by some people claiming ownership of the land, and the matter is scheduled to come up for hearing on June 12. As the court had earlier directed officials to issue passbooks and carry out mutations for lands other than those under the status quo, the govt would file an appeal after the high court vacations are over, the collector said.
