The Andhra Pradesh Cabinet, led by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, approved a new sand policy and the tabling of a bill to repeal the AP Land Titling Act during its meeting at the secretariat on Tuesday, July 16. The bill to repeal the Land Titling Act is scheduled to be tabled in the upcoming Assembly session starting on July 22.
Elaborating on the decision to abolish the AP Land Titling Act, Information Minister Kolusu Parthasarathy said that the repeal was necessary as the Act, initially proposed by the NITI Aayog, required the Title Registration Officer (TRO) to be a government official. However, modifications made by the previous regime allowed ineligible persons to act as TROs, creating potential for misuse.
Minister Parthasarathy said that the Act was implemented without enough stakeholder consultations, which led to many concerns. The Minister said while the original documents of the registered lands will remain with the TRO, only photocopies will be given to the land holders. Landowners were apprehensive about the government holding original land documents, fearing their lands could be mortgaged without consent. He added that the repeal fulfils a promise made by the NDA alliance during the election campaign, aiming to restore checks and balances in the land titling verification process since APLTA had given scope for misuse of authority.
The Cabinet also ratified a new free sand policy, which replaces the previous government’s policy. Buyers will only have to pay seigniorage and transportation charges as per the policy. The new policy terminates all existing sand mining contracts with private contractors. Minister Parthasarathy accused the previous administration of corruption and said that YSRCP leaders had benefited from the old policy. He said that the state government would “abide by all the instructions, orders and observations made by various courts and the National Green Tribunal (NGT) with respect to sand excavation and protection of the environment.”
Following the meeting, Chief Minister Naidu advised the ministers and MLAs to avoid involvement in sand operations to prevent defamation. He reminded them of the government’s deficit budget and told them to efficiently manage their departments and fulfil their responsibilities.