State to regularise small land parcels under Tukdebandi Act amendment

State revenue minister Chandrashekhar Bawankuke said on Saturday that all land plots up to one guntha (1,089 square feet) in size created in urban zones before January 1, 2025, will be granted legal status

Land transactions pending for years under the Tukdebandi (Fragmentation of Land) Act are set to become easier, with the Maharashtra government likely to issue a government resolution (GR) next week to operationalise the long-awaited reforms.

The amendment eliminates a restrictive clause in Section 8(b) of the Act and adds a new sub-clause to Section 9(3) to facilitate the legalisation process. (REPRESENTATIVE PHOTO)

State revenue minister Chandrashekhar Bawankuke said on Saturday that all land plots up to one guntha (1,089 square feet) in size created in urban zones before January 1, 2025, will be granted legal status. “The decision will help thousands of property owners regularise their small land holdings, obtain ownership titles, seek building permissions, and end the uncertainty that has persisted for decades,” he said.

The move follows the state cabinet’s approval of an amendment to the Maharashtra Prevention of Fragmentation and Consolidation of Holdings Act, 1947, which will effectively remove restrictions on non-agricultural lands and regularise nearly 49 lakh fragmented land parcels across the state.

The amendment eliminates a restrictive clause in Section 8(b) of the Act and adds a new sub-clause to Section 9(3) to facilitate the legalisation process. The reform aims to address long-pending land transaction issues, especially in rapidly urbanising areas, by allowing regularisation through a standard operating procedure (SOP) prepared by a committee of senior officials from the revenue and urban development departments.

Pending cases

Maharashtra’s revenue department continues to top the list of government departments with the highest number of pending cases, followed closely by the land records department. Official data from all six administrative divisions — Pune, Konkan, Nashik, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Amravati, and Nagpur — shows that the Pune division leads in pendency across both departments, posing a major administrative challenge for the state government.

According to records, 155,410 cases remain unresolved in the revenue and land records departments over the past two years. In just the last three months, the number of pending cases across the six divisions has risen by 17,413, reflecting a continuing struggle to clear the backlog.

When asked about the issue, Bawankule said he would “seek detailed information and act accordingly”.