Maharashtra to regularise all land transactions since November 1965 for free

This will allow plot holders, whose transfers were previously deemed irregular, to have their names officially recorded as owners in the 7/12 extract records.

Mumbai: In a major move, the Maharashtra government has decided to regularise all land transactions that occurred over the last 59 years, free of charge. This will allow plot holders, whose transfers were previously deemed irregular, to have their names officially recorded as owners in the 7/12 extract land records or property cards.

Navi Mumbai, India - Nov. 18, 2023:Naina project village at Adai in Navi Mumbai, India, on Saturday, November 18, 2023. (Photo by Bachchan Kumar/ HT PHOTO) (HT PHOTO)

A 7/12 extract is a crucial land record document that proves property ownership. It contains details about agricultural land, including its survey number, area, ownership, and type of cultivation.

On Tuesday, the state revenue department amended the Maharashtra Prevention of Fragmentation and Consolidation of Holdings (MPFCH) Act by promulgating an ordinance to implement the move.

“In order to update the record of rights, the government considers it expedient to suitably amend the said Act to provide for deemed regularisation of such fragments without charging any premium therefore,” states the ordinance issued by the state revenue department.

The move has also enabled the regularisation of land transactions between November 15, 1965 and October 15, 2024, confirmed revenue minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule.

The MPFCH Act prevents agricultural land from being divided into small, uneconomical plots. It prohibits the creation of “fragments” (land parcels below a standard size) and restricts their sale, generally requiring adjacent landowners to purchase them to prevent new fragments. The idea was to consolidate agricultural holdings for the purpose of improved cultivation.

However, with growing urbanisation over the last few decades, agricultural land near cities and developed municipal areas was re-zoned for residential, commercial, or industrial use in various draft or final regional plans, thereby permitting its non-agricultural use.

This shift in zoning led to numerous land transfers and partitions that contravene the provisions of the (MPFCH) Act. Consequently, while these transactions have occurred in practice, the restrictions imposed by the Act have prevented them from being officially recorded in the land records.

“This revolutionary decision enables the regularisation of all land transactions previously conducted in violation of the Act, resolving decades of land-ownership ambiguity. Effective immediately, the MPFCH Act will no longer apply to lands permitted for non-agricultural use,” said Bawankule.

“Buyers with registered sale-purchase deeds, but whose names were not on the 7/12 extract, will now have their names entered under ownership rights. For unregistered documents, the buyers can now register their deeds with the sub-registrar and subsequently have their names recorded in the 7/12 extract,” the revenue minister explained.

The ordinance covers all areas where non-agricultural use is permissible under the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning (MRTP) Act or the metropolitan region development authority Acts, including Mumbai, Pune, and Nagpur, as well as special planning authorities and peripheral zones under the Unified Development Control and Promotion Regulations (UDCPR).