Introduction

Presently, as per section 42 of the Maharashtra Land Revenue Code, 1966 (“MLRC”), the prior permission of the Collector is required for the non-agricultural use of agricultural land or for putting land assessed for specific non-agricultural use to alternate use. Thus, the grant of NA permission was one of the functions of the revenue department. For construction on land converted to non-agricultural use as per the provisions of MLRC, the landowner is further required to obtain development permission from the planning authority as provided under section 44 of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966.

The resolution provides for the grant of both NA and development permission under a single application for certain categories of land as detailed hereinafter. The Building Plan Management System (“BPMS”), which is an online system being used to process construction and building permits is pivotal in facilitating the combined grant of NA and development permission.

The Changes

The GR of May 2023 proposes the following modality for an integrated grant of NA and development permission:

1. The lands falling within the scope of section 42A (no permission required for change of use of land situate in area covered by development plan), section 42B (provision for conversion of land use for lands included in final development plan area), section 42C (provision for conversion of land use for lands included in the draft regional plan), section 42D (provision for conversion of land use for the residential purpose), or section 44A (no permission required for bona fide industrial use of land) (collectively referred to as “said Lands”), shall be deemed to be cleared for NA use and there is no separate NA permission to be obtained.
2. Where the said Lands fall under Occupancy Class – I tenure, upon payment of conversion tax, the non-agricultural use license (permission) will be generated along with the development permission using BPMS.

However, if the said Lands fall under Occupancy Class – II tenure, then upon payment of Nazrana (premium) and other expenses that will be payable to the government, as may be verified by the revenue officer, the development permission generated on BPMS shall be granted to the landowner. Further, the NA use license (permission) shall be granted along with the aforementioned development permission. One copy of such NA use license (permission) shall be forwarded to the office of the village revenue records to facilitate the collection of non-agricultural land assessment from the landowner.

The Takeaway

The conversion of land from agriculture to NA, which formerly entailed the involvement of different officials and many months of work, has been simplified by providing single window clearance. A separate application for non-agricultural certification is no longer necessary for land in places where the Development Plan/ draft regional plan/ residential or bona fide industrial use has already been permitted. This will simplify life for farmers, landowners and developers. It is expected that this step will augment Maharashtra’s ranking on the ease-of-doing-business index.

We hope you find the above informative and in case of any queries or clarifications kindly feel free to reach out to us at – mumbai@foxmandal.in