Hyderabad: Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy directed officials to conduct a government land survey on a war footing and identify encroachments on public property.
The minister inspected land near Veshya Kanthala Cheruvu on the outskirts of Sathupalli on Tuesday.
Sathupalli MLA Dr Matta Ragamayee Dayanand, Dr Matta Dayanand Vijay Kumar, Municipal Chairperson M.D. Rehana Kamal Pasha and revenue officials accompanied him during the visit.
Officials briefed the minister on alleged encroachments on government land in the area.
Government land survey to verify ownership records
Ponguleti instructed officials to thoroughly examine revenue records before conducting the survey.
He said authorities must carry out the exercise in a fair and transparent manner.
The minister stated that the government was working to make public land available for distribution to the poor.
He directed officials to hand over land to beneficiaries if revenue records confirmed private ownership.
However, he said authorities should take possession of the land if records established it as government property.
Further, Ponguleti instructed revenue officials to demarcate the boundaries of recovered land.
He also directed them to install fencing to prevent future encroachments.
The minister said protecting government land remained a priority for the state administration.
Tahsildar Satyanarayana, officials from the Rural Water Supply Department, municipal councillors and Congress leaders also attended the inspection.