Section 22-A Prohibited Property List in Telangana: How to Remove Your Land (NOC Procedure)

Introduction

Section 22-A Prohibited Property List in Telangana: How to Remove Your Land (NOC Procedure)

A practical guide for landowners, flat owners, buyers, borrowers and litigants in Hyderabad, Medchal-Malkajgiri and Telangana

Introduction

A Section 22A prohibited list Telangana entry is the most common reason a sale, gift, mortgage or bank loan stops at the Sub-Registrar. The officer does not sit in judgment on your title. Once the survey number is flagged, the document is refused.

Owners in Hyderabad, Medchal-Malkajgiri, Ranga Reddy and Sangareddy often discover the block only after an agreement is signed and an advance is paid. A Medchal land registration NOC is then demanded. An apartment in Peerzadiguda, a plot in Alwal or Chengicherla, or a house on a parent survey tagged as ULC or assigned land can all freeze for the same reason: the parent survey is on the list.

This article explains what Section 22-A actually does, the five statutory categories, how to check Bhu Bharati and IGRS, the Collector NOC / de-notification route, documents that matter, timelines, common mistakes, and when a writ before the Telangana High Court is the next step. De-notifying 22A land Hyderabad is an administrative and legal process. It is not a counter favour at the SRO.

Read this first. Being on the 22-A list does not cancel ownership. It only blocks registration until the entry is deleted or a competent order is uploaded to the registration system. A paper NOC that is not reflected on the CARD / IGRS list often fails at the counter. Confirm the live portal path and the clause printed against your survey number before you file.

What Section 22-A actually is

Section 22-A of the Registration Act, 1908, as in force in Telangana, was substituted with effect from 20 June 2007. It directs the registering officer to refuse documents that fall in listed classes of property. The provision is a state amendment. It is not a title statute and it is not a substitute for a civil-court decree.

The 1999 version of the section was struck down as too open-ended. The 2007 text replaced it with five clauses. Telangana inherited that text after 2014. The operating rules sit in Chapter XXXIII of the Telangana Registration Rules (Rules 238 to 243).

The five categories, in plain language

• Clause (a): documents relating to property whose transfer is already barred by a Central or State statute. Assigned land under the Telangana Assigned Lands (Prohibition of Transfers) Act, 1977 is the usual example.
• Clause (b): sale, gift, exchange or lease of State or Central Government property executed by a person who is not legally empowered to transfer it.
• Clause (c): sale, gift, exchange or a lease exceeding ten years of Endowment property (Telangana Charitable and Hindu Religious Institutions and Endowments Act, 1987) or Wakf property, executed by a person not statutorily empowered.
• Clause (d): agricultural or urban land declared surplus under the Telangana Land Reforms (Ceiling on Agricultural Holdings) Act, 1973 or the Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act, 1976.
• Clause (e): property the State Government notifies in the Gazette because it claims an avowed or accrued interest of government, a local body, an institution, or because the land is under court or tax attachment.

Gazette publication under Section 22-A(2) is required for clause (e). The Full Bench in Vinjamuri Rajagopala Chary v. Principal Secretary, Revenue Department, (2016) 2 ALD 236 (FB), held that no Gazette notification is needed for clauses (a) to (d), provided the competent authority has forwarded a signed list to the registering officer. Section 22-A(4) lets the State Government de-notify a clause (e) Gazette entry — suo motu, on an application, or to give effect to a final High Court or Supreme Court order.

Who can put land on the list — and who cannot take it off

Under Rules 238 to 241, only specified officers may send lists: the District Collector for clauses (a), (b) and (d) and for the clause (e) proposal; the Commissioner of Endowments and the CEO of the Telangana State Waqf Board for clause (c). Lists under Rule 238 must be signed by the Collector. A list signed by any other officer is not to be acted upon.

The Sub-Registrar cannot add or delete a 22-A entry. That is why asking the Medchal, Uppal, Quthbullapur or Kukatpally SRO to “just remove it” does not work. The Telangana High Court repeated this in A. Janga Reddy v. State of Telangana (29 January 2025), concerning assigned land in Nagole, Uppal Mandal (now Medchal district): until the Collector deletes the entry, the SRO is not empowered to register.

What a 22-A listing does — and what it does not do

• It stops registration of a sale, gift, exchange, long lease or mortgage of that survey number or the plots carved from it.
• Banks will usually refuse the property as security.
• It does not, by itself, cancel a registered sale deed or a patta.
• It does not decide title. Title, if disputed, still belongs in a civil court. Vinjamuri expressly keeps that route open.
• An entire colony can freeze because the parent survey was uploaded, even where only a strip is government, Bhoodan, assigned or ULC land. That is the pattern reported in Medchal-Malkajgiri in 2025–2026.

Justice K. Lakshman, in December 2025, added a practical test that owners should use in every representation: the record must show which clause applies and when the land was added. A listing that cannot explain itself is open to challenge.

How to check if your land is on the Section 22A prohibited list

Check both portals. Agricultural and converted land often sit on Bhu Bharati. Urban plots, flats and non-agricultural parcels are searched on IGRS. A house with a clean sale-deed chain can still be blocked because the parent survey is flagged.

Bhu Bharati (agricultural / revenue land)

1. Open bhubharati.telangana.gov.in.
2. Use Land Details Search under Information Services.
3. Select district, mandal and village. Search by survey number or Pattadar Passbook number.
4. Read the prohibited-status column. Note the exact clause printed, if any.

IGRS / Registration & Stamps (urban and non-agricultural)

1. Open registration.telangana.gov.in and use the Prohibited Properties search (also published as prohibitionPublicList / openProhibitedProperties — confirm the live menu).
2. Enter district, mandal, village and survey number. In municipal areas, try the ward search as well.
3. Save a dated screenshot of a red flag or a clause such as “22-A(1)(a)” or “22-A(1)(d)”.

There is no reliable single PDF of every 22-A parcel in Telangana. Search village-wise. If the SRO refuses a document, apply in writing for the extract of the list or Gazette on which the refusal rests. Vinjamuri directed that this extract be given within ten days.

Portal paths, module names and the “data under review” banner change. Re-check the live site on the day you file. Helpline reported for Registration & Stamps: 1800 599 4788 (verify).

Which office to approach — it depends on the clause

Do not file a generic “please remove 22-A” letter to every officer. The forum follows the clause.

• Clauses (a), (b) and (d): District Collector of the district where the land lies (Medchal-Malkajgiri Collector for Medchal, Shamirpet, Quthbullapur, Uppal, Kapra and related mandals). The Collector is the officer who signed the list under Rules 238 and 240.
• Clause (c) Endowment: Commissioner of Endowments. Clause (c) Wakf: CEO, Telangana State Waqf Board.
• Clause (e) Gazette notification: State Government under Section 22-A(4). The Collector only proposes de-notification under Rule 241. The Gazette change is not complete until Government publishes it and IGRS is updated.
• SRO / District Registrar: receive the document, issue a written refusal, forward a representation, and implement a deletion once the competent list is revised. They do not decide title and they do not delete the list on their own.
• High-level administrative committee (Principal Secretary, Revenue and Inspector General of Registration, as publicly described in August 2026): useful for backlog follow-up. It is not a substitute for a speaking Collector or Government order. Composition and disposal targets should be verified.
• Telangana High Court (Article 226): writ of mandamus when the authority sits on a representation beyond the Vinjamuri six-week window, refuses without reasons, lists land without identifying the clause, or treats a paper NOC as enough while the electronic list is unchanged.
• Civil court: declaration and consequential deletion where the State claims the land is government, assigned, surplus or endowment and you need a title finding.

Step-by-step: how to seek removal or a Medchal land registration NOC

Step 1 — Diagnose the entry

Print the Bhu Bharati and IGRS results. Ask the SRO, in writing, for the clause, the date of inclusion, and the Collector / Endowment / Waqf / Gazette proceeding that put the survey on the list. If the SRO has already refused a deed, insist on a written refusal. Oral refusal is not a usable record. A 2012 judgment of Justice C.V. Nagarjuna Reddy, still cited in current reporting, held that officers cannot refuse on an informal list or demand an NOC in place of a lawful listing, and that refusal must be in writing so that the owner can move further.

Step 2 — File the Bhu Bharati grievance (agricultural / CARD list)

Bhu Bharati carries a dedicated module: “Grievance relating to inclusion in Prohibited Properties List” under ROR Corrections (also referred to in older Dharani vocabulary as TM15). The official user manual asks you to:

1. Log in with mobile OTP.
2. Open ROR Corrections and choose the prohibited-list grievance.
3. Fetch the parcel by Pattadar Passbook number, or by location if there is no PPB.
4. Enter Aadhaar, tick the affected survey number, and state why the entry is wrong.
5. Answer whether the survey number should be removed from the CARD prohibited list, and give reasons.
6. Upload title and revenue records and submit.
7. Complete biometric eKYC at a MeeSeva centre. Track the application number.

Bhu Bharati Rules, 2025 (G.O.Ms.No.39 dated 14 April 2025) treat exclusion from CARD prohibited-list lands as a Collector-level item in the published schedule. Confirm the current schedule before you rely on the exact item number.

Step 3 — Written representation to the SRO and District Registrar

For urban plots, flats and other non-agricultural property, no dedicated online 22-A deletion module was visible on the Registration portal as of late August 2026 (to be verified on the date of filing). File a representation to the Sub-Registrar concerned and the District Registrar, Medchal-Malkajgiri / Hyderabad / Ranga Reddy, with inward acknowledgement. Attach the search print, the refusal endorsement, and the document set. Ask them to forward the file to the Collector and to keep the slot open once the list is corrected.

Step 4 — Collector application for deletion or NOC

Address the District Collector. Mark copies to the Tahsildar, RDO / Sub-Collector, District Registrar and the SRO. Ask for a speaking order that:

• identifies the survey number, sub-division, plot or flat and the exact extent;
• records the clause under which the land was listed and why that clause does not apply, or applies only to a defined portion;
• directs deletion or modification of the CARD / IGRS prohibited entry; and
• communicates the order to the Inspector General of Registration and the SRO.

Call the relief “deletion / modification of the prohibited-list entry”, not only “NOC”. A Medchal land registration NOC that does not name the survey, clause and the direction to update IGRS is the document Sub-Registrars have been returning. Chengicherla owners faced exactly that mismatch in September 2026 reporting: the Collector paper was produced, the SRO said the form was not enough, and the electronic list was still live.

Assigned-land NOCs are a narrower product. G.O.Ms.No.307, Revenue (Assignment-I), dated 6 June 2013, makes the District Collector the only competent officer for NOCs permitting sale of land assigned to ex-servicemen and freedom fighters (and their legal heirs), after field enquiry. The same G.O. says NOCs shall not be issued to third-party purchasers who bought from the original assignee or heirs without an earlier Collector NOC. Do not assume that G.O. covers every assigned-land dispute. Lands assigned to landless poor remain restricted under the 1977 Act unless a later regularisation or court order says otherwise. Pre-1954 assignments have been treated differently in some G.Os (including G.O.Ms.No.575 dated 16 November 2018, discussed in later High Court orders). Whether that G.O. still governs a Telangana parcel is a point to verify on the assignment proceedings you actually hold.

Step 5 — Clause (e) de-notification

If the block rests on a Gazette notification, the Collector can only send Form IV under Rule 241. De-notifying 22A land Hyderabad in the clause (e) sense is a State Government act under Section 22-A(4). Attach the Gazette extract, the Collector’s reasons originally sent to Government, your title chain, and any High Court order you want implemented. Ask for publication of a de-notification and simultaneous IGRS update.

Step 6 — Follow the file until IGRS turns green

A deletion order that sits in the Collectorate does not register a sale. Confirm that the SRO screen and the public prohibited-property search have dropped the survey or have been confined to the exact government / surplus / endowment strip. Only then present the deed.

Step 7 — Writ or civil suit if the file does not move

Vinjamuri obliged the concerned authorities to consider a deletion request for clauses (a) to (d) and pass an order within six weeks of receipt, and to give the party a copy. Administrative statements in August 2026 spoke of two-working-day disposal for genuine urban cases and a 45-day window aligned with High Court directions. Treat those as administrative targets, not a statutory limitation, and verify the circular in force.

If there is silence, a one-line rejection, a listing without clause or date, or a refusal to implement a deletion already ordered, a writ of mandamus before the Telangana High Court at Hyderabad is the usual next step. Relief commonly sought is: quash or suspend the listing insofar as it covers the petitioner’s plot; direct the Collector to dispose of the representation in a fixed time; and direct the SRO to receive, register and release the deed subject to stamp duty and Registration Act formalities. Where the State asserts that the land is government or assigned on merits, the High Court may send the owner to a civil court for declaration. That is not a defeat. It is the title forum Vinjamuri preserved.

Documents that actually move a 22-A file

• Registered title deeds and link documents covering at least 30 years.
• Encumbrance certificate for the same period.
• Pattadar Passbook, RoR / pahani, sethwar or diglot showing historical classification.
• FMB / village map / layout plan with plot numbers tied to the parent survey.
• NALA / conversion, LRS / layout regularisation, HMDA / GHMC / municipality sanction, building permission — where the land is urban.
• Earlier Collector, Joint Collector, RDO or Tahsildar proceedings, including any prior NOC or deletion.
• High Court or civil-court decree or status-quo order, if any.
• Gazette notification and Collector’s clause (e) proposal, if the entry is under 22-A(1)(e).
• ULC declaration / repeal / exemption papers if the flag is 22-A(1)(d).
• Assignment proceedings, condition of grant, and proof of whether the grantee was a landless poor person, an ex-serviceman or a freedom fighter.
• Dated portal screenshots and the SRO’s written refusal.
• Identity proof and a sketch of the exact extent you want deleted — not the entire village survey if you own a plot.

Vague bundles delay enquiry. Put a one-page note on top: survey number, extent, clause printed on the portal, why that clause is wrong, and the precise order you want.

Medchal, Hyderabad and the 2025–2026 list revision

Medchal-Malkajgiri has been the heaviest district in the recent 22-A grievance load. Public figures reported in August 2026 put several hundred pending removal applications in Medchal alone, a large share of them ULC-tagged parent surveys that swallow apartments and independent houses. Peerzadiguda, Uppal, Alwal, Chengicherla, Nagole, Suraram, Quthbullapur, Bahadurpally and Dundigal have all generated SRO refusals and Collector representations.

The trigger was a list-revision exercise after Telangana High Court directions in 2025 to prepare a fresh, clause-wise prohibited list, communicate it to SROs and place it in public domain. When old lists were uploaded without filtering lands already regularised, converted after the ULC repeal architecture, or carved into approved layouts, private plots rode in on the parent survey number.

Two working rules follow for Hyderabad practice. First, never buy on the strength of an old “the layout is approved” conversation. Search the parent survey on IGRS and Bhu Bharati the week you pay the advance, and again the week you register. Second, do not pay anyone for a “Collector memo”. In August 2026 the Revenue Minister publicly referred to FIRs in Medchal over forged Collector memos and fake special-deputy-collector certificates used to force registration of government land.

Common mistakes that keep the land blocked

• Treating the SRO as the deleting authority.
• Filing only for “NOC” and not for deletion of the CARD / IGRS entry.
• Not reading the clause. A Wakf flag does not go to the ULC clerk. A Gazette (e) flag does not end at the Tahsildar.
• Producing a third-party sale of assigned land and expecting G.O.Ms.No.307 protection.
• Assuming the 1999 repeal of the Urban Land Ceiling Act automatically clears every Hyderabad plot that ever carried a surplus tag. Possession, vesting and later G.Os still have to be checked on that survey.
• Applying to delete the whole survey when you own one plot — or applying only for the plot when the electronic flag is on the parent survey.
• Skipping MeeSeva eKYC after the Bhu Bharati filing, so the grievance never reaches the Collector login.
• Waiting years after a written refusal before filing a writ, then struggling to explain the delay.
• Using middlemen and forged memos. That is a criminal problem on top of a revenue problem.

Timelines and limitation — what is firm, what is not

• Vinjamuri six weeks: authority that receives a deletion request for clauses (a) to (d) is obliged to pass an order and give a copy.
• Vinjamuri ten days: extract of the list / Gazette on which the SRO refused.
• Section 22-A itself does not fix a citizen limitation period for a deletion application. File as soon as the block is discovered.
• A writ should be filed promptly after silence or a reasoned refusal. Unexplained delay is argued against the petitioner.
• A civil suit for declaration or possession follows the Limitation Act, 1963 — commonly three years for a pure declaration and twelve years for possession, depending on the prayer and when the cause of action arose. Have the dates checked before you sue.
• Administrative two-day / 15-day / 45-day targets announced in 2026 are not a substitute for the Full Bench clock. Verify the current circular.

When to consult an advocate

Consult before you pay a second advance, before you accept a one-page NOC, and before you file a writ that asks the High Court to decide title. An advocate is useful at four points: reading the clause against the assignment / ULC / Gazette record; drafting the Collector representation so the operative paragraph can be uploaded to IGRS; deciding whether Endowments, Waqf or Government (clause (e)) is the real forum; and moving the Telangana High Court with the refusal, the portal extract and the six-week clock attached.

Bullet-point checklist

• Search Bhu Bharati and IGRS on the same day. Save screenshots.
• Note district, mandal, village, survey / sub-division, plot or flat, and the printed 22-A clause.
• Demand a written SRO refusal and a ten-day extract of the source list or Gazette.
• File the Bhu Bharati prohibited-list grievance and finish MeeSeva eKYC.
• File a Collector representation with the “golden” records: 30-year deeds, EC, sethwar / pahani / PPB, layout or conversion papers.
• Ask for deletion of the electronic entry, not only an NOC.
• Mark the SRO, District Registrar, Tahsildar and RDO.
• If the flag is Endowment, Wakf or Gazette (e), file in that forum as well.
• Diary the six-week Vinjamuri date.
• Do not present the sale deed until the public search is clear.
• If the file is silent or the listing has no clause or date, take writ instructions.
• Never buy or sell on a photocopied “Collector memo” from a broker.

Conclusion

A Section 22A prohibited list Telangana flag is a registration bar, not a quiet confiscation. The way out is specific: identify the clause, put the right officer on notice, prove the private extent with a 30-year chain, and obtain an order that actually deletes the CARD or IGRS row. For Medchal land registration NOC work, the District Collector and the District Registrar have to move together. For de-notifying 22A land Hyderabad under a Gazette notification, the file has to reach Government under Section 22-A(4).

Owners who treat this as a counter argument with the Sub-Registrar lose months. Owners who file a precise representation, finish eKYC, and diary the six-week clock either get the land released or have a clean writ record. Check the portals again the morning you register. Lists in Telangana have moved twice in two years. Yours can move a third time — in either direction.

Short disclaimer

This article is for general public information. It is not legal advice, is not a solicitation, and is not a warranty of any outcome. Section 22-A practice, Bhu Bharati modules, IGRS menus, Collectorate proformas and High Court directions change. Portal paths, fee schedules, committee composition and ULC policy calls current as of September 2026 should be verified against the order, Gazette and screen that apply to your survey number before you file or pay stamp duty. Consult an advocate with your documents.

Related reading

• Dharani Portal Disputes (TM31): Appeal to Collector and Remedies — sibling revenue-portal route; TM15 is the prohibited-list cousin of TM31.
• Land Encroachment Remedies in Telangana: Legal Steps and Collector Remedies — when the State also claims possession, not only a registration bar.
• Injunction to Prevent Dispossession — Interim Application in Hyderabad Courts — if demolition or interference starts while the 22-A file is pending.
• Document Evidence in India: Originals, Certified Copies and Digital Signatures — how to prove the 30-year chain.
• Legal Notice vs Caveat: When to Use Each — before a buyer files, or before you present a deed that may be refused.
• Cancel Registered Sale Deed: Grounds, Procedure and Interim Relief — if an unauthorised transfer of listed land has already been registered.

Has the Medchal, Uppal or Hyderabad SRO refused your sale or mortgage because the survey is on the Section 22-A list? Share the portal screenshot, the parent survey number and the written refusal. We will map the clause, the Collector or Gazette route, and whether a representation or a Telangana High Court writ is the faster lawful step.