Waqf properties in Telangana face concerns over possible encroachment amid proposals to resolve long-pending disputes involving the Section 22-A prohibited properties list. (DC Image)

Hyderabad: Many Waqf properties are feared to fall into the hands of encroachers, with the state government fast-tracking applications and representations to resolve long-pending property disputes under Section 22-A of the Registration Act.

The Waqf Board is yet to correspond with the Revenue and Registration departments to share details of properties that should remain on the 22-A list.

According to official sources, of about 56,000 Waqf properties registered on the UMEED central portal, 33,929 properties and attached land covering nearly 77,000 acres are listed under Section 22-A.

Ironically, 85 per cent of these are encroached, and attempts are being made to delist them.

“It is already accepted by the state government that these properties are in the 22-A list since the time of the BRS government.

If they remain in 22-A, a Waqf property cannot be registered.

Scores have approached courts for delisting in an attempt to encroach,” a senior official said.

Section 22-A of the Registration Act, implemented by the Telangana Registration and Stamps Department, empowers the government to prohibit the registration and transfer of specific categories of land on public policy grounds.

Once a survey number is added to the 22-A prohibited list, the Sub-Registrar Office is legally barred from executing any deeds for it, including sale, gift or mortgage.

Following Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy’s announcement on September 16 to fast-track resolution of 22-A issues, Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy instructed officials to register open plots, houses and flats previously blocked under the prohibited list, provided they have valid permissions from GHMC, HMDA, DTCP or local municipalities.

Applicants must furnish a continuous chain of link documents for transactions made after permissions were granted.

However, activists fear that removing Waqf properties from the 22-A list without rigorous verification could trigger large-scale land grabbing.

“The moment restrictions are lifted, the race begins for registrations, sales, development agreements, third-party interests and ultimately endless litigation.

Once a Waqf property is transferred into private hands, recovering it becomes a painfully long legal battle.

This is precisely why the government must exercise extreme caution before altering the status of any Waqf land under 22-A,” said Syed Farees Ahmed, a Waqf activist.

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