The Andhra Pradesh government on Wednesday repealed the A.P. Land Titling Act of 2023 (APLTA) by having the A.P. Land Titling Repeal Bill, 2024 unanimously passed in the Legislative Assembly.
Revenue Minister Anagani Satya Prasad moved the Bill, and it was endorsed by Civil Supplies Minister Nadendla Manohar, TDP MLAs Yeluri Sambasiva Rao, Vemireddy Prasanthi, P.G.V.R. Naidu and Gorantla Butchaiah Chowdary and BJPโs C. Adinarayana Reddy.
Making a statement on the subject, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said the APLTA had resulted in a steep rise in land disputes, and said even private properties would have been usurped had the Act been implemented.
โThe APLTA provided scope to the anti-social elements to grab lands by imposing certain undue restrictions on their sale and purchase to create a situation where the landowners would buckle under pressure and give away their holdings at throwaway prices,โ the Chief Minister said.
Besides, the land records could be easily tampered with using advanced technology. The printing of Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddyโs face on Pattadar passbooks was unprecedented, Mr. Naidu said.
The APLTA left the landowners with no option except to approach the High Court for resolution of disputes as the jurisdiction of civil courts was done away with. Also, any person, irrespective of their competence, could be appointed as the Land Titling Officer, the Chief Minister noted.
The Act was vehemently opposed by the people but Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy was not bothered about their sentiments, and the land resurvey undertaken by the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) Government too had mala fide intentions, he stated.
Mr. Naidu asserted that the APLTA was in violation of the Indian Succession Act and Articles 21, 246 and 300 of the Constitution, and even the facilitating G.O. No.512 was kept under wraps. He stated that having realised the harmful nature of the APLTA, he and JSP president K. Pawan Kalyan had together resolved ahead of the elections to repeal the Act. โWe kept our word and got it done soon after forming the government,โ Mr. Naidu said.
