Maharashtra minister orders free regularisation of small land parcels

Mumbai, Nov 18 (PTI) Maharashtra Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Tuesday ordered free regularisation of small land parcels purchased in violation of the Fragmentation Act, a move expected to benefit nearly 60 lakh property holders and about three crore citizens across the state.

"Entries citing transactions made against the Maharashtra Prevention of Fragmentation and Consolidation of Holdings Act will be removed from the 7/12 land title document," Bawankule said, adding that the newly issued eight-point procedure will finally make thousands of long-pending small-plot transactions in Maharashtra legal.

Following Bawankule's orders, the revenue department said the procedure applies to land transactions executed between November 15, 1965 and October 15, 2024. District collectors, settlement commissioners, land record officials, registration authorities and divisional commissioners have been sent instructions after a government gazette was issued on November 3.

The decision covers areas under planning authorities, such as the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) and its counterparts in Pune and Navi Mumbai, residential and commercial zones, cantonment lands, regions marked for non-agricultural use in regional plans and peripheral areas adjoining village gaothans (original settlements).

Under the new rules, landowners will now be able to have their names recorded on the 7/12 land title document. Cancelled mutation entries will be re-examined and approved, enabling the buyer's name to be entered as the occupant. Names currently listed under "other rights" will be shifted to the main "occupant" category, while notes stating "transaction against the Fragmentation Act" will be removed.

Unregistered transactions will also get relief. Citizens who completed deals only on notarised papers or stamp documents will be encouraged by talathis and circle officers to register the deeds. After payment of applicable stamp duty and registration, their names will also be added to the 7/12 document.

The government has clarified that once regularisation is completed and the buyer's name is reflected in the official records, there will be no future restrictions on sale or transfer. The move is expected to provide major relief to middle-class landowners in urban and semi-urban areas and grant full legal validity to their properties.

Earlier, citizens had to pay 25 per cent of the land's market value as penalty to regularise such transactions, later reduced to five per cent. With people still reluctant, the state has now made the process completely free, a decision expected to benefit nearly 60 lakh families, or three crore people. PTI ND NP