Ponguleti Warns of Tough Action Against Officials Involved in Funds Diversion

Hyderabad: Revenue minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy has warned of tough action against those involved in the alleged diversion of stamp duty and registration fee payments collected during land registrations. He directed officials to initiate action against those who had misused funds over the past five years since the Dharani portal came into effect.

An audit conducted on transactions over the past five years revealed 4,800 discrepancies out of a total of 52 lakh transactions. Approximately 3,000 of these discrepancies were found in Rangareddy and Yadadri districts. The minister at a meeting here on Sunday reviewed the issue of irregularities that have come to light in Jangaon and a few districts. He affirmed that the entire amount related to these irregularities would be recovered.

Srinivas Reddy stated that the revenue machinery, during a recent audit conducted across all districts, had identified instances where the stamp duty and registration challan amounts paid by the public for land registrations were misappropriated. The minister expressed anguish over the incident where some individuals committed irregularities by taking advantage of the technical flaws in the Dharani portal introduced by the previous government.

Srinivas Reddy blamed lack of auditing mechanism as the primary reason for such irregularities in the portal. He clarified that a thorough investigation would be conducted into the incident to identify those responsible, and they will be brought to book.

He also instructed the officials to register criminal cases if necessary. The minister directed officials to conduct a comprehensive audit of all transactions that have taken place across the state since the Dharani portal came into effect five years ago.