Hyderabad: Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy announced on Thursday that the government is planning to address land disputes along the State borders with neighboring states. He stated that border demarcations would be taken up to resolve these issues.
The Minister mentioned that Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy has already spoken to the Chief Secretary of Karnataka about land disputes in the bordering districts. Once the matter is resolved, the data will be incorporated into the government’s land records system, Bhu Bharati. This was in response to a question raised by Congress MLA Madan Mohan Rao, who inquired whether there had been any surveys regarding agricultural lands bordering forest areas. These areas often see conflicts between tribals and the forest department.
Srinivas Reddy clarified that there is currently no proposal for such a survey. However, he acknowledged that disputes between forest lands and tribal communities exist in 35 constituencies. He urged MLAs to submit applications on their letterheads to address these issues. The Minister also revealed that discussions on the matter have already taken place between the Chief Minister and Forest Minister Konda Surekha. He highlighted the shortage of surveyors in the State, noting that while 890 surveyors are needed, only 240 are currently available. To address this, he announced that 1,000 new surveyors would be appointed within the next month or two, and they would be allocated based on the size of each mandal.
In response to a separate question raised by BJP MLA Payal Shankar about pending applications from district collectors to the Chief Commissioner of Land Administration (CCLA), the Minister stated that no such applications were pending. Shankar pointed out issues with the RoR (Records of Rights) Bill, suggesting that the tribunal clause needs clarity. He alleged that farmers were being pressured to sell their lands at lower prices and threatened with inclusion on a prohibited list. Shankar urged the government to address these issues at the district collector level and proposed removing a provision that protects officials from legal cases.
BRS MLA G. Kamalakar also expressed concern that DM 33 module applications, which should be handled by district collectors, were unnecessarily being forwarded to the CCLA, causing delays and difficulties for farmers. Responding to these concerns, the Minister admitted that the complaints raised by members were valid. He assured the Assembly that after the passage of the Bill, the government would actively engage with the public to resolve their grievances.
