Telangana's Minister for Revenue, Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy, on Sunday, 27 September 2026, announced that the state government has taken a decisive step to resolve Urban Land Ceiling (ULC) applications that have remained pending for decades, affecting thousands of landowners across the state. The move comes in direct response to a commitment made by Chief Minister Revanth Reddy in the Telangana Legislative Assembly on 16 September.

Background: A Problem Decades in the Making

The ULC applications have languished in limbo for years despite a Government Order (GO) issued in 2016 by the previous administration to address the backlog. The failure to implement that GO left thousands of citizens unable to exercise their rights over their land or carry out basic property transactions. The minister noted that this prolonged inaction had caused significant hardship to residents whose lands fell under disputed or unregularised categories.

This is not the first time the state has attempted to fix the problem — the existence of that 2016 GO, unimplemented for nearly a decade, underscores a pattern of policy announcements without follow-through that the current administration is now attempting to break.

What the Government Has Ordered

A memo was issued on Sunday to enable the review and settlement of pending ULC applications filed under previously issued Government Orders — GOs 455, 456, 747, and 92. Officials have been instructed to immediately begin regularisation for eligible cases once all procedural formalities are completed as per existing regulations.

The directive covers colonies that are either partially regularised or unregularised under the Telangana Urban Land Ceiling Act, with a fast-track process mandated for eligible applications. Orders have additionally been issued permitting the registration of houses, plots, and flats that carry approvals from GHMC, HMDA, DTCP, or municipal authorities, even where those properties were previously listed under the Section 22A category of the Registration Act.

The Section 22A Link

The ULC resolution is part of a broader effort by the Telangana government to address 10–12 key land-related issues tied to Section 22A of the Registration Act through a fast-track mechanism — a promise Chief Minister Revanth Reddy made from the floor of the assembly. A high-level committee was earlier constituted to tackle these 22A issues, followed by the issuance of memos aligned with G.O. 118 and subsequently G.O. 76. The ULC memo announced on Sunday represents the latest step in that sequence.

What Officials and the Minister Said

Minister Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy said the government's primary objective is to eliminate land-related hardships that have persisted for decades by examining every such problem and resolving it within the framework of law. 'Resolving public grievances is the goal of the people's government,' he said in a statement. He assured that swift solutions would be found for all remaining issues in the pipeline.

What Happens Next

Officials across relevant departments have been directed to expedite the review of pending applications without delay. Eligible cases are to be regularised following completion of procedural formalities. The resolution of these ULC applications is expected to unblock property transactions for a large number of residents in Hyderabad and other urban areas of Telangana, who have been unable to sell, transfer, or mortgage their land owing to its pending status. Whether the current administration's directives translate into on-ground implementation — unlike the 2016 GO before it — will be the true test of this initiative.