Telangana Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy called on officials to act with compassion in resolving land rights issues. On Tuesday, he and Forest Minister Konda Surekha held a review meeting at the Secretariat on disputes in the Nagarjuna Sagar constituency.
Ponguleti said the government intends to give rights to tribal farmers who have cultivated land for 40–50 years. He warned forest officials not to complicate matters with technical objections. Instead, he directed the Revenue and Forest Departments to work together and find speedy solutions.
During the meeting, he highlighted the Bhoo Bharati pilot project in Tirumalagiri mandal. Surveys covered 23,000 acres, identifying 12,000 acres as government land. Of these, 8,000 acres were fit for farming. Farmers held valid passbooks for 4,000 acres, while 4,037 acres still need new ones. The survey also uncovered 3,069 bogus passbooks over 2,936 acres. The government canceled them and stopped related schemes such as Rythu Bandhu and crop insurance.
Moreover, the survey found 7,000 acres of forest land. Ponguleti instructed officials to clear disputes quickly so genuine farmers benefit. Former minister K. Jana Reddy, MLAs K. Jayaveer Reddy and Balu Nayak, Revenue Secretary D.S. Lokesh Kumar, PCCF C. Suvarna, and Nalgonda Collector Ayla Tripathi joined the review.
