You have shortlisted a plot, negotiated the price, and the seller seems genuine. Then the sub-registrar’s office refuses to register the sale because the land sits on the prohibited properties list.
This happens more often than most buyers expect, and it can freeze your money for months.
The list, maintained under Section 22-A of the Registration Act, 1908, flags lands where the government has restricted registration and transfer.
A sub-registrar will typically decline to execute a sale, gift, mortgage, or any other deed for such property.
Recent months have made this an urgent issue. Thousands of private properties were reportedly swept into the list during a land records updation drive.
Owners in Jubilee Hills and Banjara Hills only discovered the flag when they tried to sell or mortgage.
In Karimnagar, some Indiramma housing beneficiaries found their homes listed without any prior notice.
This guide covers what the prohibited properties list contains, how to check it on the IGRS Telangana and Bhu Bharati portals,
and what to do if your own property has been wrongly included.
What Is the Prohibited Properties List Under Section 22-A?
Section 22-A gives the Telangana government the power to bar registration of specific categories of land. The aim is to stop illegal sale of government, assigned, disputed, and protected properties.
The list is not a single document it is a set of entries spread across five sub-sections, and the sub-section your property falls under determines who can remove it.
Section 22-A(1)(a) and (b) cover government lands. Section 22-A(1)(c) deals with Waqf and Endowment properties. Urban ceiling surplus lands fall under 22-A(1)(d), while properties tied up in court cases are listed under 22-A(1)(e).
Knowing which clause applies to a property tells you whether your grievance goes to the District Collector, the Waqf Board, the Endowments Commissioner, or the CCLA committee.
Why the List Matters More Than Ever Before
A sale agreement for prohibited land is effectively unenforceable. Your money gets locked in, and recovering it usually means litigation.
The scale of the problem has grown recently because regularized urban ceiling lands were added to the prohibited properties TS list, catching many legitimate owners off guard.
The errors run in both directions. Some buyers have paid advances for land that can never be registered.
Some owners have been unable to sell or mortgage property they have held for decades.
Either way, the cost of not checking is far higher than the ten minutes it takes to look.
How to Check the Telangana Prohibited Property List Online
The Registration and Stamps Department runs a free search no login, no fee.
The Bhu Bharati portal, which replaced Dharani, carries a similar feature. Use both if you want a fuller picture.
Step-by-Step on the IGRS Telangana Portal
- Open the Registration and Stamps Department portal at registration.telangana.gov.in.
- On the homepage, find the “Online Services” section and click “Prohibited Property”.
- Select District, Mandal, and Village from the dropdowns. For urban properties, you may need ward, block, or town survey number instead.
- Click submit. The results appear split into Agriculture and Non-Agriculture categories, with entries tagged by 22-A sub-section.
A pitfall worth knowing: the list is organised by survey number, not by owner name. If you do not already know the survey number of the plot you are buying, ask the seller for the latest Pattadar Passbook or sale deed before you search.
Searching by village alone and scrolling through hundreds of entries is how people miss their own property.
Checking via Bhu Bharati
Go to bhubharati.telangana.gov.in, open the information services section, and select the prohibited lands option. Choose district, mandal, and village,
enter the captcha,and fetch the results. The dataset mirrors the IGRS list, though Bhu Bharati is built for better document verification.
Second pitfall: some mandals have incomplete Endowment and Waqf data, and the portal may show a message that prohibition data is under review.
A clean search result is not proof the property is clear. If the deal is large, confirm the survey number at the local sub-registrar office before paying any advance.
Common Categories on the Section 22A List in Telangana
Government and assigned lands form the bulk of the section 22a list telangana maintains government lands alone run into lakhs of acres, with assigned lands adding a comparable extent.
Forest lands make up the single largest block, followed by water bodies and shikam lands.
Endowment and Waqf properties are smaller in extent but strictly protected. Urban ceiling surplus lands and properties under active litigation form the category most likely to affect ordinary buyers,
since regularized ceiling lands have been pulled into the list in recent drives. Tribal area lands covered by Regulation 1 of 1970 are restricted separately to protect tribal interests.
What to Do If Your Property Is on the List
The authority you approach depends entirely on the sub-section. For 22-A(1)(a), (b), or (d) government, assigned, and urban ceiling lands file with the District Collector.
For 22-A(1)(c), go to the CEO of the Waqf Board or the Commissioner of Endowments. For 22-A(1)(e), the CCLA office committee handles grievances.
Keep your paperwork ready: registered sale deed, Pattadar Passbook, property tax receipts, and any government order or proceeding that regularized the land.
The revenue department has acknowledged administrative errors and stated that verified genuine cases will be corrected.
Complaints can be filed through the government’s toll-free helpline or the Prajavani grievance programme.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I search the prohibited list by name or survey number?
No. The IGRS portal only allows searches by district, mandal, and village. You have to scan the results manually for your survey number. This is a known gap, and it is the main reason owners miss their own listings until a transaction fails.
What is the difference between Dharani and Bhu Bharati for this check?
Dharani was the earlier land records platform and had a prohibited land search. Bhu Bharati replaces it and offers the same search with improved document verification.
The underlying 22-A data should match, so either portal works for a preliminary check.
My property has a valid Pattadar Passbook. Does that protect me?
Not automatically. A passbook does not override a 22-A entry, and assigned lands can carry restrictions regardless of possession.
If you believe the listing is wrong, file with the authority matching the sub-section rather than assuming the passbook settles the matter.
How long does removal from the list take?
There is no fixed timeline. It depends on the sub-section and the verification needed. Cases involving court disputes or bhudan lands tend to take the longest. Some applicants have reported waiting several months.
Is it safe to buy if the seller promises to get the property removed later?
No. Until the entry is officially deleted, no sub-registrar will register the transfer. A promise to fix it later leaves you holding an unenforceable agreement. Treat removal as a precondition, not a follow-up.
Final Thoughts
If you are buying in an area where ceiling lands were recently regularized, check the list twice once early while shortlisting,
and again a few days before registration, because entries have been added in batches without notice to owners.
And if your search comes back clean on the portal, still ask the sub-registrar’s office to confirm the survey number in person.
The portal tells you what the database says today; the registrar’s office tells you what will actually block your deed on the day you sign.
