Is the Land Restricted? Checking the 22A Prohibited List in Telangana and AP

Short answer (2026): before paying for a plot in Telangana or Andhra Pradesh, look up its exact survey number in the state's Section 22A prohibited-property register to see if it is government or assigned land. Telangana agricultural land is checked on Bhu Bharati (bhubharati.telangana.gov.in), Telangana urban plots on registration.telangana.gov.in, and Andhra Pradesh land on IGRS AP (registration.ap.gov.in). It costs nothing and takes around two minutes. Beware one trap. Assigned land does not get the "prohibited" flag that government land gets; Bhu Bharati marks it "Marked as Assigned Lands". So read the land's category, and do not treat a missing "prohibited" as clearance. Clean title chains and nil encumbrance certificates prove nothing here either, because the government or assigned status lives in the revenue and registration registers and not in the EC.

Few mistakes hurt a buyer in India as badly as paying for land that proves to be government, endowment or wakf property, or otherwise restricted. Such a deal is void from the start, and the buyer loses both land and money with almost no legal remedy.

Even so, thousands of buyers fall for prohibited property fraud each year, because basic document checks do not reveal the restriction. Revenue records can show private ownership, sale deeds can look genuine, and even registered documents can persuade a buyer that the deal is valid.

Read on to learn what prohibited properties are, which kinds of land are restricted in India, how to find out whether a property is on the prohibited list and how to protect yourself before buying.

The short version (2026)

Land becomes "prohibited property" when a state flags it as legally unsellable, almost always under Section 22A of the Registration Act, 1908.

How to check before buying:

• Andhra Pradesh: IGRS AP's prohibited-property search on registration.ap.gov.in
• A flagged parcel's Encumbrance Certificate carries "Prohibited Property 22A" in its header, so read the EC header before anything else
• Telangana: farmland goes through bhubharati.telangana.gov.in and urban plots through registration.telangana.gov.in, and the 22A check is free and answers instantly

The two states moved in opposite directions in 2026. Andhra Pradesh dropped five whole categories from the 22A list on 1 January: lands of serving and former defence personnel, freedom fighters and political sufferers, assignments made before 18 June 1954, and private patta lands wrongly flagged. It now splits a disputed survey number, so only the disputed part stays blocked. Telangana went the other way. After the Chief Minister's Assembly assurance of 16 September and a 12-point plan, it let district committees under the Collector start registering, from 24 September 2026, 22A-listed open plots, houses and flats with valid GHMC, HMDA, DTCP or municipal approvals. Land blocked last year may be free now, or the reverse, so repeat the check on transaction day. Selling prohibited land is void from inception: you lose the land and the money, and the government pays no compensation.

Prohibited properties: meaning

Prohibited properties are land or buildings that private parties cannot lawfully sell, transfer or mortgage, because they belong to or are reserved for the government, religious or charitable institutions, or fall under restrictions in state and central laws.

"Prohibited" means barred from private commercial dealing. A person may be in possession and hold papers that suggest ownership, yet legal title stays with the state or institution, and any sale is null and void.

The governing principle: nemo dat quod non habet

The maxim nemo dat quod non habet (Latin: "no one can give what they do not have") underpins how India treats prohibited property. A seller without valid title passes none to the buyer, whether the land belongs to the government or a temple trust or is restricted, and genuine-looking documents change nothing.

The statute: Section 22A of the Registration Act, 1908

Buyers usually search for a "prohibited property list" and never ask which law produces it. The answer is Section 22A of the Registration Act, 1908. Under it a state government can notify categories of property whose registration would be "opposed to public policy". The Sub-Registrar is bound by the notification, and once a survey number is listed, registering a sale, gift or mortgage deed on it is unlawful. As the counter has no discretion, a 22A flag defeats a transaction.

The six 22A categories

Telangana's Section 22A, closely mirrored in Andhra Pradesh, groups prohibited property into six clauses. Each type of restricted land discussed later in this guide falls under one of them:

• Clause (a), 22A(1) · Covers: assigned land for the landless poor (AP Assigned Lands (POT) Act, 1977) · Usual exit: the Collector de-notifies it after checking eligibility
• Clause (b) · Covers: government land: poramboke, sarkar zameen, nazul · Usual exit: almost never given to private buyers
• Clause (c) · Covers: endowment and Waqf land of temples (HR&CE) and the Waqf Board · Usual exit: alienation only by the institution, with sanction
• Clause (d) · Covers: ceiling-surplus land under the Land Ceiling Acts · Usual exit: the RDO or Land Tribunal clears it
• Clause (e) · Covers: parcels a court has restrained · Usual exit: the order is vacated
• Clause (f) · Covers: land that the government has specially notified as prohibited · Usual exit: the government withdraws the notification

Running the 22A check yourself

• Enter district, mandal or SRO, village, and survey or plot number
• The portal says if the parcel is flagged and under what clause, free and immediately
• Compare with the Encumbrance Certificate: a flagged parcel has the stamp "Prohibited Property 22A" in the EC header, whatever the online tool shows
• Telangana agricultural land: bhubharati.telangana.gov.in. Telangana urban: registration.telangana.gov.in. Andhra Pradesh: registration.ap.gov.in

“The 2026 clean-up that matters to you. Telangana's 22A list had grown beyond one crore acres, and much of it was genuine private patta land marked by mistake during the 2017-18 records update and the 2020 Dharani rollout. A high-level review committee was formed in August 2025. The Revenue Department then ordered, on 1 January 2026, the immediate removal of five categories: defence-personnel lands, freedom-fighter lands, grants to political sufferers or victims, every real pre-18-June-1954 assignment, and private patta lands included wrongly. A separate 2026 rule ends the habit of blocking an entire survey number, since officials now sub-divide it, keep only the truly disputed part listed and free the clean part for registration. 22A status therefore keeps shifting for buyers. Repeat the check when you register and never lean on a certificate that is half a year old.”

Kinds of restricted land in India

India has several categories of prohibited or restricted property, each under different laws and agencies. The commonest are:

1. Government land (poramboke, sarkar zameen)

Government land covers property of the central government, the states, municipal corporations, gram panchayats and other government agencies, and it normally falls into these classes:

• In North India, government-owned agricultural or other land is Sarkar Zameen
• Nazul Land, found mostly in Delhi and some northern states, escheated to the government and is leased but never sold
• Railway Land is owned by Indian Railways and often lies beside tracks or stations
• Forest Land is notified under the Indian Forest Act, 1927, or state forest laws
• Defense Land is controlled by the Ministry of Defence
• Poramboke (Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana) is land held back for public needs such as roads, water channels, burial grounds, playgrounds, government buildings and defense installations

unused

2. Endowment land (Inam, Devasthanam property)

Properties granted to Hindu temples, trusts or religious institutions, mostly in princely-state or British colonial times, make up endowment land. State endowment departments manage them, and the income funds temple operations and religious activities.

• Devasthanam properties in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana fall under the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department
• Inam lands began as tax-exempt grants for temples, mosques or individuals, made for religious or charitable ends

Possession does not allow a private party to sell endowment property. Only the endowment board or department may lease or alienate it, under strict legal conditions.

3. Wakf (Waqf) holdings

Lands and buildings given over to Islamic religious or charitable purposes are wakf properties under the Wakf Act, 1995. After the declaration of wakf, a property becomes inalienable: sale, gift and mortgage are all barred.

State Wakf Boards register all wakf properties, keep the lists and manage the assets. Wakf land disputes are frequent in cities where wakf boundaries overlap with private properties.

The legal risk: land you bought unknowingly may later be claimed as wakf, and the transaction can then be challenged and reversed. Wakf tribunals have jurisdiction.

4. Inam land

Kings, zamindars or British authorities gave individuals tax-free land, called inam land, for services, religious purposes or administrative roles. State governments resumed most inam lands after independence through various Inam Abolition Acts.

Some inam lands nevertheless stayed with the original grantees or their descendants on certain conditions. Problems arise when:

• The government has resumed ownership, yet the land is still occupied and illegally sold
• Title is unclear because inam abolition proceedings were incomplete
• Heirs try selling inam land that was never transferable

Inam laws are not uniform across states, which complicates verification.

5. Ceiling surplus land

State Land Ceiling Acts, passed in the 1960s-70s to redistribute agricultural land, deemed any holding above a set ceiling "surplus" and took it over for landless farmers.

Land declared ceiling surplus yet not taken into government possession falls into a legal grey area. Some owners try to sell before the formal transfer, and those sales are voidable.

6. Forest tracts

Reserved Forest, Protected Forest and Village Forest, as notified under the Indian Forest Act, 1927 or state forest laws, cannot be sold privately. Hilly states and areas near wildlife reserves see frequent encroachment.

Central government approval under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, is required to use forest land for a non-forest purpose, so an unauthorized sale of it is illegal.

7. Assigned land (patta land for SC/ST)

Land that the government assigned to Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe beneficiaries, or to economically weaker sections, under welfare schemes normally cannot be transferred or sold for a fixed period, typically 10-15 years.

A sale of assigned land before the period ends is void, even if the assignee agrees.

Government land: how to identify and verify

Verification matters most for government land, because frauds involving it are among the commonest prohibited property scams in India.

How to check whether land is government land

1. Check revenue records (Pahani, 7/12, ROR)

The Tahsildar's office or revenue department keeps revenue records that give the land classification:

• Look in the land use or remarks column for words like "Poramboke", "Government Poramboke", "Sarkar Zameen", "Nazul", "Forest" or "Common Land"
• Note whether the owner is shown as "Government", "Municipality" or some government department

Online access to revenue records:

• For Telangana, use bhubharati.telangana.gov.in (Bhu Bharati, successor to Dharani in 2025), and registration.telangana.gov.in for the urban 22A check
• For Karnataka, landrecords.karnataka.gov.in
• For Tamil Nadu, eservices.tn.gov.in/vview
• For Maharashtra, mahabhulekh.maharashtra.gov.in
• For Andhra Pradesh, use meebhoomi.ap.gov.in

2. Get a Pahani/Adangal/Chitta certificate

On rural agricultural land, the Pahani (Telangana), Adangal (Karnataka) or Chitta (Tamil Nadu) gives actual cultivation and possession details, and poramboke land will be named as such.

3. Look at survey maps and FMB sketches

The Survey Department's maps and Field Measurement Book (FMB) sketches lay out each survey number, and they mark which ones are poramboke, such as roads, canals, tanks and government buildings.

Compare your survey number with the official survey map at the Tahsildar's office.

4. Ask at the Sub-Registrar's office

Ask the Sub-Registrar's office about prohibitory orders or poramboke notifications on your survey number. These are official orders that declare specific parcels to be government land.

5. Check municipal corporation records

For urban land, municipal corporations hold records of plots allotted, auctioned or kept by the municipality. Confirm with the land records section of your local corporation.

6. Ask the Revenue Department for an NOC

In a high-value deal, ask the Tahsildar or District Collector for a No Objection Certificate (NOC) or Status Certificate that says the land is not government land. No other official confirmation is stronger.

Endowment property: risks and legal position

Endowment property carries special risk, because revenue records may show private ownership while the title really belongs to a religious institution.

How to check whether land is endowment property

1. Ask the state endowment department

Each state runs a Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department (HR&CE) or a similar body with registers of endowment properties:

• The Telangana Endowments Department keeps its own registers
• In Tamil Nadu, the HR&CE Department site is hrce.tn.gov.in
• Karnataka's body is the Muzrai Department
• Visit apendowments.gov.in for the AP Endowments Department

Request a search or NOC for your survey number from the endowment department.

2. Look for inam history in old records

Old inam grants often lie in the background of endowment properties. Look through old survey records, settlement registers or village records for "Devasthanam Inam", "Temple Land" or "Religious Endowment".

3. Inspect the site and ask locally

Visit the site and ask residents or village elders whether the land was once temple land or was granted to a temple. Local knowledge can reveal what official records do not.

Legal consequences

Buy endowment land and the endowment department can sue to take it back. Courts generally side with the institutions, so the buyer loses the land and has little chance of compensation.

Wakf property: can it be sold?

Wakf properties are especially problematic in cities where wakf claims overlap with long-established private properties.

How to check whether land is wakf property

1. Check State Wakf Board records

State Wakf Boards keep registers of wakf properties. Contact the Wakf Board in your state or visit its website:

• The AP Wakf Board serves Andhra Pradesh
• Karnataka has the Karnataka State Wakf Board
• Maharashtra has the Maharashtra State Wakf Board
• The Telangana State Wakf Board is at tswakf.gov.in

Ask for a search report on your survey number or property address.

2. Look for wakf references in the Encumbrance Certificate

Look in the Encumbrance Certificate for "Wakf", "Muttawalli", "Mosque" or "Dargah" in earlier transactions or remarks.

3. Obtain a Wakf NOC

Where wakf presence is known, as in old city areas or near mosques and dargahs, get a No Objection Certificate from the Wakf Board that the property is not wakf land.

Legal status of wakf sales

The Wakf Act, 1995 provides that:

• If a private party sells wakf property, the sale is void ab initio, meaning void from the beginning
• Buyers in good faith (bonafide purchasers) get only limited protection
• A wakf property can be sold, mortgaged or gifted only in the ways the Act allows

Wakf disputes go to Wakf Tribunals and not to civil courts, and it can be hard to recover money from a fraudulent seller.

Inam land and ceiling surplus land

Verifying inam land

Inam rules differ by state. In general:

• Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu: inam abolition Acts of the 1960s-70s abolished most inam lands, so confirm the inam status in revenue records and land tribunal records
• Maharashtra: ask the Collector's office for inam settlement records

Look for "Inam", "Watan", "Jagir" or "Saranjam" in old records or pattadar passbooks.

Verifying ceiling surplus land

Check with the Land Tribunals or the Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO) whether the state Land Ceiling Act has declared the land surplus. Ceiling proceedings often pend for decades, so no recent orders do not mean the land is clear.

Is the property on the prohibited list?

India has no single "prohibited property list", so verification means checking several sources:

The verification process, step by step

1. Revenue records

Get the Pahani, 7/12, ROR, FMB, Chitta or Adangal from state land records portals or the Tahsildar's office. Note the land classification, the owner's name and the remarks.

2. Encumbrance Certificate (EC)

Get an Encumbrance Certificate for 30 years and look for any mention of government acquisition, endowment settlement, a wakf deed or prohibitory orders.

3. Poramboke or government land list

Get from the Tahsildar the poramboke or government land list of your village or survey area, which some states put online.

4. Search with the endowment department

Approach the HR&CE or Endowments Department for a search report on your survey number.

5. Search with the Wakf Board

Approach the State Wakf Board for a search report or an NOC stating that the property is not wakf land.

6. Forest Department check

If the land is near forests or hills, ask the Forest Department to confirm that it is not notified forest land, and use online forest maps if there are any.

7. Municipal corporation or panchayat records

For urban or peri-urban land, ask the municipal corporation or gram panchayat about reservations, poramboke status or acquisition proposals that affect the property.

8. Court and litigation search

Search the eCourts portal for pending litigation on the property, including government recovery suits and endowment claims. Our guide on checking pending court cases on property explains how.

9. Site inspection and local enquiry

Visit the site, inspect boundaries and talk to neighbors and local officials. Watch for government boundary stones, temple markers or wakf board signage.

Portals and registers by state

The records differ from state to state:

Andhra Pradesh

• AP Endowments Department: apendowments.gov.in (list of endowment properties)
• AP Wakf Board: wakf property records
• Meebhoomi Portal: meebhoomi.ap.gov.in (revenue records and poramboke classification)

Telangana

• The TS Endowments Department keeps the endowment property list
• The TS Wakf Board is online at tswakf.gov.in
• Registration.telangana.gov.in carries the Section 22A prohibited-property check, while the Bhu Bharati portal (bhubharati.telangana.gov.in) holds revenue records and poramboke data and replaced the retired Dharani portal in 2025

Karnataka

• Muzrai Department: records of endowments and temple land
• Karnataka Wakf Board: the wakf property register
• Bhoomi Portal: landrecords.karnataka.gov.in for revenue records with poramboke classification

Tamil Nadu

• HR&CE Tamil Nadu: hrce.tn.gov.in for endowment properties
• TN Wakf Board: the wakf land register
• TNREGINET: revenue records and chitta on eservices.tn.gov.in

Maharashtra

• Devasthan Department: temple land records
• Maharashtra Wakf Board: the list of wakf properties
• MahaBhulekh: mahabhulekh.maharashtra.gov.in for 7/12 extracts and city survey records

Delhi

• Delhi Land Revenue: records of nazul land and land pooling
• Delhi Wakf Board: wakf properties in Delhi

Other states

Most states run online revenue record portals. On your state's Bhoomi, Bhulekh or Land Records portal, look for poramboke or government land classification.

Consequences of buying prohibited property

Prohibited property leads to grave legal and financial results:

1. The transaction is void

From the start the sale deed is void. You have no claim to ownership, and the government or institution will take the property back.

2. You lose the purchase money

A suit against the seller for fraud or breach of contract can win a refund, but if the seller absconds or has no assets, recovering it is often hard.

3. The government pays no compensation

Bonafide purchasers of prohibited property, courts have repeatedly held, have no claim to compensation from the government. Caveat emptor, buyer beware, governs.

4. The seller faces criminal liability

Prosecution of the seller is possible for cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property under BNS Section 318(4), the replacement for IPC Section 420 from 1 July 2024 onward and for forgery under BNS Sections 336-340. Even a conviction leaves your money and property unrecovered.

5. No loan or mortgage

No bank lends against a prohibited property. When fraud is found after a loan is paid out, the bank may use the SARFAESI Act (see SARFAESI and property) and make the buyer repay the entire loan.

6. Litigation costs

Resisting a government recovery action, or an endowment or wakf claim, means years of litigation and little hope of winning.

7. Adverse possession does not apply

Adverse possession cannot give title to government land. Half a century of occupation gives no legal title as against the government.

How LegiScore screens for prohibited properties

Finding out if a property is prohibited or restricted means searching many government databases, cross-checking revenue records and analyzing historical transactions, which takes weeks by hand.

LegiScore automates prohibited property screening inside its AI property verification platform:

1. Multi-source government data

LegiScore connects with state land records portals plus endowment department and wakf board databases, then tests your property against all prohibited or restricted lists.

2. Poramboke and land classification analysis

On Pahani, 7/12, ROR and FMB records the platform spots markers such as "Poramboke", "Government Land", "Sarkar Zameen" and "Common Land", and reports each in the LPS Rating.

3. Encumbrance Certificate screening

The AI in LegiScore reads Encumbrance Certificates for 30 years of words and patterns that point to endowment settlements, wakf dealings, government acquisition or prohibitory orders.

4. Red flags in the title chain

The title chain verification module spots suspicious patterns such as:

• Inam or endowment mentions in earlier deeds
• Sales that involve names of government or religious institutions
• A "private owner" who appears out of nowhere after decades of government ownership

5. Litigation and court case cross-check

LegiScore looks through eCourts records for pending suits in which revenue departments, endowment boards or wakf tribunals claim the property as government or institutional land.

6. Risk scoring on the 8 LPS pillars

The LPS (Legal Property Score) shows prohibited property risk in two pillars, Title Chain and Regulatory Compliance. A property flagged as prohibited or high-risk gets a lower rating (C, D or F), so buyers are warned before going further.

7. State-specific verification rules

State rules differ, so LegiScore applies logic by state. For example, it consults HR&CE records for endowment land in Tamil Nadu and Telangana and Muzrai records in Karnataka, which keeps it in line with local property laws.

A buyer or lender need not spend weeks at Tahsildar offices, endowment departments and wakf boards. The LegiScore report carries a full prohibited-property risk assessment, usually in 48-72 hours.

See your property's legal health: have your property verified today.

Due diligence checklist

Before buying any property in India, run through this prohibited property checklist:

• Take a 30-year Encumbrance Certificate and read it for government or institutional references
• Ask the Tahsildar for the poramboke list covering your survey area
• Approach the Endowment Department for a search report or NOC
• Approach the Wakf Board for a wakf search report or NOC
• Check with the Forest Department if the land is near forests
• Review the records of the municipal corporation when the property is urban
• Look up eCourts for government recovery suits still pending
• Inspect the site yourself and look for government markers or temple stones
• Engage a local advocate who knows the land laws of the district
• Take title insurance or an LPS rating, since a professional risk assessment shrinks your blind spots
• Obtain and verify revenue records (Pahani/7/12/ROR), looking at land classification and ownership

For a complete framework, see our Property Due Diligence Checklist.

Red flags for prohibited property risk

Take extra care if you notice these warning signs:

• Reluctance on the seller's part to produce government NOCs or endowment or wakf clearance
• Revenue records that recently moved from "Government" to a private name, unexplained
• A location in an old city area, next to temples, mosques or dargahs
• Neighbours who recall temple land or a wakf past
• An Encumbrance Certificate showing gaps or transactions nobody can explain
• No FMB sketch, or a survey number with unclear boundaries
• A seller who was not the first pattadar and cannot account for the title chain
• Repeated sale deeds on one parcel within a short time, which may be a fraud chain
• Price far under the going market rate, frequently a hint of title defects

Our guide to red flags in property documents says more.

Common frauds that use prohibited land

Frauds that use prohibited property rank among the commonest real estate scams in India:

1. The fake patta scam

Fraudsters forge

2. Occupiers selling endowment land

Occupiers of temple land or endowment property, sometimes for decades, try to sell it on the strength of possession papers, yet they hold no legal title.

3. Wakf land forgery

In places where wakf and private properties overlap, fraudsters forge papers that turn wakf land into private land and then sell it.

4. Inam land fraud

The heirs of early inam grantees sell inam land that the government should have resumed, and they hide its inam past.

5. Selling encroached poramboke

People who encroach on poramboke land such as roads, parks and water bodies draw up false sale deeds and sell it as private property.

Our guide on common property frauds in India has more on fraud patterns.