Tue Mar 18 20:22:24 UTC 2025: ## Andhra Pradesh Overhauls Land Administration with Sweeping Reforms

**Vijayawada, March 19, 2025** – The N. Chandrababu Naidu government in Andhra Pradesh has launched a comprehensive overhaul of the state’s land administration system, introducing a series of legislative and administrative reforms aimed at improving transparency, efficiency, and property rights protection. The changes, implemented over the past nine months, include repealing and enacting new laws, amending existing legislation, and modernizing land registration processes.

A key legislative change involves the repeal of the Andhra Pradesh Land Titling Act, 2024, citing concerns that it removed the role of civil courts in land disputes. In its place, the government has enacted the Andhra Pradesh Land Grabbing (Prohibition) Act, 2024, imposing stringent penalties, including lengthy prison sentences, for land grabbing.

Amendments to the Andhra Pradesh Rights in Land and Pattadar Pass Books Act, 1971, aim to streamline grievance redressal by restoring Sub-Collectors and Revenue Divisional Officers as appellate authorities. Administrative reforms include modernizing land registration processes, with plans for advance booking of slots and an “anywhere registration” facility. Sub-Registrars will also see a change in their seating arrangement, symbolizing a shift towards more citizen-friendly governance.

The government has also undertaken a comprehensive review of freehold lands, identifying irregularities in approximately 32% of the acres registered as freehold. An investigation is underway into these deviations, involving over 5 lakh acres. Furthermore, the government has removed former Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy’s photograph from Pattadar Passbooks and survey stones and launched an inquiry into alleged irregularities in land allocations under housing schemes during the previous administration. The government’s land resurvey initiative has addressed over 2.74 lakh grievances in the last nine months.

While the government emphasizes the reforms’ aim to rectify past irregularities and modernize the system, the long-term impact on property rights and dispute resolution remains to be seen. A Group of Ministers has been constituted to oversee the implementation of these sweeping changes.

Read More