41.

Of Use of Land
Uses to which holder of land for purposes of agriculture may put his land. 1. (Subject to the provisions of this section, holder of any land) assessed or held for the purpose of agriculture is entitled by himself, his servants, tenants, agents or other legal representatives to erect farm4(building), construct wells or tanks or make any other improvements thereon for the better cultivation of the land, or its more convenient use for the purpose aforesaid.

2. From the date of commencement of the Maharashtra Land Revenue Code (Amendment) Act, 1986 (hereinafter in this section referred to as ``such commencement date'') before erection any farm building or carrying out any work or renewal of, reconstruction of, alterations in, or additions to, any such farm building, or any farm building erected before such commencement date on any land which is situated,a. within the limits ofi. ii. the Municipal Corporation of Greater Bombay, the Corporation the City of Pune,

iii. the Corporation of the City of Nagpur, and the area within eight kilometres from the periphery of the limits of each of these corporations; b. within the limits of any other municipal corporation constituted under any law for the time being in force and the area within five kilometres form the periphery of the limits of each such municipal corporation; c. within the limits of the 'A' Class municipal councils and the area within three kilometres form the periphery of the limits of each such municipal council; d. within the limits of the 'B' and 'C' Class municipal councils ; or

e. within the area covered by the Regional Plan, town planning scheme, or proposals for the development of land (within the notified area) or (an area designated as ) the site of the new town, whether each of these being in draft or final, prepared, sanctioned or approved under the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966; the holder or any other person referred to in sub-section (1), as the case may be, shall, notwithstanding anything contained in sub-clauses (d) and (e) of clause (14) of section 2, make an application, in the prescribed form, to the Collector for permission to erect such farm building or to carry out any such work of renewal, re-construction, alterations or additions as aforesaid.

3. The Collector may, subject to the provisions of sub-section (4) and such terms and conditions as may be prescribed, grant such permission for erection of one or more farm buildings having a plinth area not exceeding the limits specified below:-

i. if the area of the agricultural holding on which one or more farm buildings are proposed to be erected exceeds 0.4 hectare but does not exceed 0.6 hectare, the plinth area of all such buildings shall not exceed 150 square metres; and ii. if the area of the agricultural holding on which one or more farm buildings are proposed to be erected is more than 0.6 hectare, the plinth area of all such buildings shall not exceed one-fortieth area of that agricultural holding or 400 square metres, whichever is less: Provided that, if one or more farm buildings proposed to be erected are to be used, either fully or in part, for the residence of members of the family, servants or tenants of the holder, the plinth area of such buildings or buildings proposed to be used for residential purpose shall not exceed 150 square metres, irrespective of the fact that the area of the agricultural holding on which such building or buildings are proposed to be erected exceeds 0.6 hectare. 4. The Collector shall not grant such permission

a. (i)if the area of the agricultural holding on which such building is proposed to be erected is less than 0.4 hectare; (ii) if the height of such building from its plinth level exceeds 5 metres and the building consists of more than one floor, that is to say, more than ground floor; (iii) for erection of more than one farm building for each of the purposes referred to in clause (9) of section 2; b. if any such work of erection involves renewal or re-construction or alternations or additions to an existing farm building beyond the maximum limit of the plinth area specified in sub-section (3) or beyond the limit of the height of 5 metres from the plinth level and a ground floor. Explanation.-- For the purposes of sub-sections (3) and (4), if only one farm building is proposed to be erected on an agricultural holding, "plinth area" means the plinth area of that building, and if more than one farm buildings are proposed to be erected on an agricultural holding,"plinth area" means the aggregate of the plinth area of all such buildings.

5. Where an agricultural holding is situated within the limits of any municipal corporation or municipal council constituted under any law for the time being in force, the provisions of such law or of any rules or bye-laws made thereunder, or of the Development Control Rules made under the provisions of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966, or any rules, made by the State or Central Government in respect of regulating the building and control lines for different portions of National or State highways or major or other district roads or village roads shall, save as otherwise provided in this section, apply or continue to apply to any

farm building or buildings to be erected thereon or to any work of renewal or reconstruction or alterations or additions to be carried out to the existing farm building or buildings thereon, as they apply to the building permissions granted or regulated by or under such law or Development Control Rules or rules in respect of regulating the building and control lines of highways or roads. 6. Any land used for the erection of a farm building or for carrying out any work of renewal, re-construction, alterations or additions to a farm building aforesaid in contravention of the provisions of this section shall be deemed to have been used for non-agricultural purpose and the holder or, as the case be may be, any person referred to in sub-section (1) making such use of land shall be liable to the penalties or damages specified in sections 43 or 45 or 46, as the case may be.] 42.Permission for non-agricultural use. No land used for agriculture shall be used for any non-agricultural purpose; and no land assessed for one non-agricultural purpose shall be used for any other non-agricultural purpose or for the same non-agricultural purpose but in relaxation of any of the conditions imposed at the time of the grant or permission for non-agricultural purpose, except with the permission of the Collector. 43. Restriction on use. Subject to the rules made by the State Government in this behalf the Collector or a Survey Officer may regulate or prohibit the use of land liable to the payment of land revenue for purposes such as, cultivation of unarable land in a survey number assigned for public purpose, manufacture of salt from agricultural land, removal of earth, stone, kankar, murum or any other material from the land assessed for the purpose of agriculture only, so as to destroy or materially injure the land for cultivation, removal of earth, stone (other than loose surface stone), kankar, murum or any other material from the land assessed as a building site, excavation of land situated within a gaothan; and such other purposes as may be prescribed; and may summarily evict any person who uses or attempts to use the land for any such prohibited purpose.

Non Agricultural permission Non Agricultural permission

It is the Permission granted for conversion of agricultural use for various non agricultural uses for the land assessed on used for agricultural purpose. In a simplified version it is just the CHANGE IN USE of the land. If the land is assessed or held for the purpose of agricultura it cannot be uised for any other non agricultural purpose without permission. For clear perception it is imperative to study relevant definitions of some of the vital terms like (1) Agriculture (2) Agricultural land and (3) Agricultural purposes.

Surpassingly the terms Agriculture is not defined in the Maharashtra Land Revenue Code, 1966 But it is defined in section 2 (1) of the Maharashtra Agricultural Land (Ceiling on Holdings) Act, 1961. Agriculture is not only ploughing, sowing and reaping of some crops or produce. Its agricultural uses includes, grazing for cattle, breeding of live stock, poultry farming, rabmanure, beekeeping, manure storage etc. Thus the land which is used or capable of being uised for the purpose of agriculture can be termed as Agricultural Land. The procedure to obtain permission for conversion of use of land from one purpose to another is very lengthy and requires professional expertise in the field of revenue laws. The permission is granted under the provisions of sub-section (1) of section 44 of the Maharashtra Land Revenue (conversion of use of land and N.A Assessment) Rules, 1969 to the competent authority having respective jurisdiction of either Tahsildar or the Sub-Divisional Officer or the Collector as the case may be. The application in the prescribed form as mentioned aforesaid can be made by an occupant or a superior holder or tenant with the consent of each other. But the practice of constituted attorney applying on behalf of the landholder is unlawful. On one of the four prescribed forms the applicant must annex one rupee court fee stamp. The applicant can apply for nonagricultural permission for any one of the three stipulations mention thereunder ; (a) To change the use of land assessed or held for the purpose of agricultural for a nonagricultural purpose (b) To change the use of land held or assessed for nonagricultural purpose for some another nonagricultural purpose (c) To use the land for the same nonagricultural purpose for which it is assessed but in relaxation of any of the conditions imposed at the time of grant of land or permission for such documents (b) (c) of land records x and (g) (h) (i) the Registration Certificate Appointment Letter Complete revenue search Architect of for for the the atleast 6 8 A Mutation A Khate nonagricultural as entries Utara in in originals original 4 4 x Architect Archtiect 30 years 8 x x x 2 1 4 under x x each each 4 4 purpose. :copies. copies. copies. copies. copies. copies. copies sets. The case can be processed only if the submission is substantiated with various (a) 7/12 or record or rights of the proposed lands in original x 4 copies.

(d) GutBook plan of the concerned land issued & Certified by the District Inspector records x (e) Certified Measurement plan of the land survey form District Inspector of land (f) Layout plan showing internal roads, open spaces e.t.c. duly signed by the applicant

(j) Power of Attorney for the constituted Attorney if appointed by the landholders x 2 copies. (k) Grant in right of way document if access road is obtained from the adjoining owners x 2 (l) (m) (n) (o) (p) (q) (r) N.A. N.O.C. N.O.C. N.O.C. Authentic Provisions Provisions to for be application from from from to prove for adopted documents in pollution Land existence sewage, in prescribed conversion Board of the form of land for Acquisition adequate and case of drainage x use 4 x 2 local authority for copies. copies. copies. N.A. source. system. layouts.

Industrial water vast

Department. disposal

adequate

infrastructure

(s) Sales Permission for tenanted lands under layout. The application can be returned back if the applicant is unauthorised signatory or if the submission is incomplete for want of some documents. The competent Revenue Authority (The Collector, S.D.O. or Tahsildar as the case may be) will initiate proper inquiry through Circle officer of the area for on the spot study of the site to verify the applicants and inspect the site in detail. His report will include written statement endorsed by the applicant and the Architect . The positive site inspection report from the Circle Officer should confirm that the land is vacant and there are no structure. He shall also note the alignment of high tension electrical lines passing above the lands. Any dispute regarding ownership of the land will come to surface during joint During site the inspection process of of the site by the for Circle Officer. use granting permission nonagricultural

complete revenue record of the concerned land shall be thoroughly scrutinized and the permission can never be granted if discrepancies are detected in earlier transfers of occupancy. If a fraud is detected in previous transfers it shall be construed that all the subsequent transfers thereafter are invalid. However irregularities in areas can be rectified by actual survey on site through D.I.L.R. and other ways. The competent authority i.e. the Collector or the Sub Divisional Officer or the Tahsildar as the case may be will forward the case papers to the relevant planning authority of the area such as Asst. Director of Town Planning (A.D.T.P.) or BM.R.ED.A. or CIDCO etc. for recommendation whether the proposed nonagricultural use can be allowed or not ? The concerned Planning Authority shall scrutinize the case in detail to ascertain if all the stipulated Development Control Rules are followed or not and shall base their report on the following assertions viz (1) security of Public Health (2_) Contradiction of planned scheme of the area (2) Contradiction of planned scheme of the area (3) Balanced Development (4) Area verifications (5) Availability of infrastructure (6) proposed infrastructure in the schemes etc. At this juncture it is interesting to state that

competent Revenue Authority is sufficiently authorised to sanction N.A. Permission inspite of having some objections from the Planning Authority. The consultation of the Planning Authority. The consultation of the Planning Authority is mandatory but the final decisionunder discretionary powers is with the Competent Authority. In various cases, sometimes Planing Authority is too rigid to apprehend the substance of Planning Concept in relation with the vicinity around and the needs of the people by raising nonpractical and vogue objections., The applicant is eligible to refer his case in Appeal to the Direct of town Planning Office for Maharashtra in Pune, if the case is rejected. In such cases till the final decision is arrived the application for N.A shall remain pending. The case papers shall also be forward to the Land Acquisition Department to verify that the proposed lands under N.A. are not included in the Land Acquisition by the Government; if so N.A. Permission can never be granted. For Industrial N.A. use case papers shall also go to various Government officers for verification regarding protection form air and water pollution and ecology. If the proposed land in full or part is obtained under The Bombay Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act, 1948, obtaining of Sale Permission from the competent Authority is an absolute must before granting N.A. Permission. Let me raise a point here that procurement of sale permission in itself is a vast subject and requires tremendous professional expertise and knowledge of the prevalent land enactments. The position of tribal lands is very ambiguous. All occupancies of Tribals transferred in favour of non tribals after 6th July 1974 shall be liable for prosecution under the Maharashtra Land (Amendment) Act, 1974 or generally known as Maharashtra Act XXXV of 1974. Similarly all the transfers and adiwasi lands to non-tribals affected during the period from 1st April 1957 to 6th July 1974 shall be read with according the to The Maharashtra Restoration of Lands to scheduled Tribals act, 1975 which is known as Maharashtra Act No. xiv of 1975. But however the non tribal transferee can succeed if the land in question has been put to any non agricultural use on or before the 6th July 1974. It is generally believed that if no reply is given by the Authority to the Applicant within 90 days from the date of acknowledgement of the application the N.A. permission shall be deemed to hve been granted. If all conditions are fulfilled under section 44(3) of the M.L.R.C. 1966, the permission is deemed to have been granted. It is not in reality granted but the Act of Legislature treats that it is granted. The applicant is not liable to any fine or penalty under section 45. The levy of Non Agricultural assessment begin from the day on which nonagricultural use begins and not from the date of permission. The commencement of N.A. use is not elaborated in the Code. But it is a question of fact and interpretation. The applicant should sincerely exert himself after obtaining N.A. Permission by operations like leveling,

developing or reclaiming the land, Constructing internal roads, drainage etc., thus altering the outlook of the land so as to render it unsuitable for agriculture. The above operations are adequate to establish that N.A. use has commenced. It is not necessary that Building construction activity shall not started to commence N.A. use. If the applicant fails to inform within one month his commencement of N.A. use he shall be liable to pay fine in addition to N.A. Assessment but such fine shall not exceed Rs. Five Hundred only as per section 44 (5) of the code. The applicant shall be commence that non agricultural use applied for within one year from the date of the order; failing which, unless the said period is extended by the Collector from time to time, the permission granted shall be deemed to have lapsed as per rule 4 (c) of the M.L.R. (Concretion of use of land and nonagricultural assessment) rules, 1969. As per section 44(6) of the code after the change in land use a sand shall be granted to the holder in the form in schedule IV if the land is situated outside the jurisdiction of the Planning Authority and in Schedule V if the land is situated within the jurisdiction of the Planning Authority. If the applicant fails to appear before the Collector for execution of sanad within a reasonable time, a notice can be issued to him to the effect that such act of non execution of sanad would entail cancellation of N.A. permission already granted. The Government is no authorised to alter very or cancel the terms and conditions of a sanad once they are agreed upon between the Government and the occupant, as the sanad is executed by the Collector on behalf of the Governor under Article 299 of the Constitution and it constitutes a contractual obligation. But if the sanad is executed by the collector in his capacity as a revenue officer in exercise of his statutory obligation in favour of private parties; thus Government of revenue officers are empowered to vary; amend or cancel the terms and conditions of the sanad. Conversion of agricultural use into nonagricultural use without permission is bad in law but a nonagricultural land may be used for agricultural purpose without any permission unless such agricultural use is prohibited under section 43 of M.L.R. Code 1966. The Collector is bound to give reasons in writing of refusal of N.A. Permission under section 42 of the code to the applicant. On refusal the applicant is entitled for only ONE appeal under section 247 of the code to the Divisional Commissioner. The Government has power Su motto to revise orders passed by the collator for some specific cause involving public interest even if sanad is executed creating contractual obligation .In such a case the aggrieved party is liable to get appropriate compensation against the cost incurred in setting up the project by commencing N.A. use. The Regularization of unauthorised use is covered by rule 9 f the Maharashtra Land Revenue (conversion of use of land Non Agricultural Assessment) Rules 1969. For unauthorised use of land in contravention of the provisions of section 44 of the code if

the Collector is satisfied that had the holder applied for necessary permission under relevant section his application would have been sanctioned and if it is within the jurisdiction of the planning Authority the unauthorised non agricultural use can be regularised under rule 9 of the following conditions : (1) The holder shall pay the amount of conversion tax leviable under section 47A within 30 days from the date of regularization and shall pay non agricultural assessment from the very commencement of the use. (11) The holder shall pay fine not exceeding forty times the N.A. Assessment. (iii) That the holder shall abide by the conditions specified in Rule 4 and such other conditions as the Collector may deem fit to impose. However if the unauthorised N.A. use is not possible to be regularised under Rule 9 as described above, and if the Collector is convinced planning Authority with the sanction of the State Government may allow the constructions to remain under Rule 10 subject to the conditions (i) and (iii) in preceding rule 9 and with additional conditions as follows : (a) Holder to pay composition fee not less than fifty percent of the cost incurred on the offending unauthorised construction or 40 time the N.A. assessment payable on the land with reference to the altered use, whichever is greater and (b) the holder shall agree in writing shall to demolish do so the offending at unauthorised holder construction risk without and claiming costs. compensation whenever asked to do so in the public interest, failing which the Collector the In exceptional cases the Collector may with the sanction of the State Government reduce the amount of composition fee payable by the holder under conditions (a) of Rule 10 as enumerated here in above if the Collector is convinced about (i) the financial inability of the holder causing him undue hardship and (ii) if the offending unauthorised construction was no constructed by the holder with the knowledge that it was unauthorised. The holder is eligible for the grant of a sanad from the Collector if his unauthorised nonagricultural use is permitted to be continued under Rule 9 or 10 of the The Maharashtra Land Revenue (conversion of use to of land under Non agricultural Assessments) Rules, 1969. There is one more procedure for the regularization of unauthorised non agricultural use. Under the Collector of Thanes notification No. REV DESK II/N.A. XI 124 dated 27/09/1978 (N.A.) in various talukas who shall issue provisional N.A. order under Section 45 and 114 of the Maharashtra Land Revenue Code demanding the holder to pay N.A. Assessment and fine (40 times of Assessment). But simply paying of N.A. Assessment and fine does not regularize unauthorised N.A. use. Usually the period of six months is granted to the holder to bring N.O.C. from the Planning Authority and other authorities, failign which the holder is liable to be prosecuted in accordance to the

provisions of M.C.R. code 1966 inclusive of the demolition of his structure. The substance behind this procedure is to raise revenue from unauthorised structures and to give constitutional rights to the holder to prove his bonafides that permission may have been obtained if applied before as he was ignorant of the offence he had committed deliberately by flouting all the prevailing rules it is not possible for the holder to get his unauthorised N.A. use regularised under section 47(b) of the M.L.R. Code 1966. Therefore the layman buying part of such unauthorised structure should not be misguided by the grantor of this provisional order of the Additional Tehsildar (N.A.). Such orders are not final N.A. orders. On receiving N.A. Order the valuation of the property increased manifold. The procedure is intriguing and cumbersome. It invites precise professional expertise. It adds significantly to the credentials of the property as it is a certification from the Government with regards to its immaculate legal and revenue marketable title. Any Indian Citizen in Indian Union inclusive of Andaman and Nicobar but exclusive of Jammu and Kashmir can buy and N.A. property anywhere even if he is not an agriculturist. http://www.serenader.com/uniland/faqs.htm#GQ01 Can I construct house for residence on the Maharashtra's agricultural land? Yes you can construct house without obtaining permission. From the 1st day August 2008 no non-agricultural permission is require to obtain in the area other than city if a person is constructing residential building for personal use subject to in general; there shall be no contravention of the provisions of any law, or any rules, regulations or orders made or issued, under any law for the time being in force, by the State or Central Government or any local authority, statutory authority, Corporation controlled by the Central or State Government or any Government Company pertaining to management of Coastal Regulation Zone, or of the Ribbon Development Rules, Building Regulations, or rules or any provisions with regard to the benefited zones of irrigation project and also those pertaining to environment, public health, peace or safety and specifically, if the land is falling outside the limits of; 1.Eco-sensitive Zone, 2.the area within eight kilometres from periphery of Greater Mumbai, 3.the area within five kilometres from the periphery of each of Cities of Pune and Solapur, 4.the area within one kilometres from the periphery of the Cities of Nagpur and Kolhapur, 5.the area within one kilometer from the periphery of each of `A' Class or 'B' Class municipal areas.

Alternatively if the area of land is more than 1 acre you can construct farm house after obtaining permission from the revenue department.

Is it possible to build on agricultural land without changing its use?

The conditions for construction of agricultural land are described in Regulation 2 for construction of agricultural land under the Law on ownership and use of agricultural land when its use is not changed. In such cases, it is permitted to construct buildingsrelated to the use the land, as follows: 1. For property with size up to 10 acres - one farm building with built-up area of 35 sq. m for storage of agricultural production and inventory, including living space, which have no permanent status and are not to be paid upon expropriation and consolidation of the land ; 2. For property with size larger than 10 dka: farm buildings, structures and facilities for storage of plant and animal production and residential buildings for occupancy by households of the owners of the land and/or persons who produce agricultural products from the agricultural land. There are many restrictions which prevent building on agricultural land, for example, if agricultural land falls within areas with limited construction in the industrial, resort and villa areas defined by the construction and regulatory plan or ring polygon, etc. Building on agricultural land with size up to 10 dka is allowed based on a sketch where the main architect of the municipality marks the location of the intended building; for land larger than 10 dka the architect has to mark the location of the building ground as well. The size of the sketch should not be less than 1: 500 with sufficient range to determine whether the intended building fits the environment. Building on agricultural land with size more than 10 dka is based on planning permission in accordance with the structural plans. When there are no plans, the building decisions are accompanied by justifications for socio-economic, technical and environmental acceptability of the proposed construction. The building decisions are made by qualified designers on geodetic

surveyor-scale basis not less than 1: 2000. Besides the project decision for location of buildings in the yard for construction, the owner needs to present separate plan for the existing buildings and facilities in the neighboring properties. The dimensions of the construction shall be determined taking into account the following: 1. the wish of the owner of the land; 2. location and size of the property in the land and access from dirt and other roads; 3. restrictions on the use of agricultural land described in the documents for the restoration of ownership; 4. building traditions in the area; 5. specific climate, soil, water, sanitary protection, landscape and environmental conditions for the territory; 6. opportunities for more compact construction through deployment neighborhood or grouping of buildings - in the notarized consent of the owners of adjacent properties; 7. opportunities for power, communication and transport services, drinking water and water for agricultural production, disposal, treatment and discharge of waste water. The size of the building ground could be up to 10% from the size of the land owned by a person or company. The built-up area of buildings (farm and residential buildings, structures and facilities) cannot be more than 15 % of the area of the building ground. Buildings on agricultural land larger than 10 dka are designed according to high-tech functional requirements; not more than two floors. For plots smaller than 10 dka the height of the construction is 3 meters to the eaves.