Maharashtra set to revamp decades-old revenue laws

Pune: Signalling a significant shift in its land administration framework, the state is gearing up to overhaul its revenue laws, which are roughly 60-70 years old.
An eight-member committee appointed under a retired IAS officer will submit the detailed report by July-end.
The initiative, announced last year, aims to modernise land dealings and streamline agrarian regulations that have remained largely unchanged so far, a senior revenue official said on Wednesday.
The committee will re-examine and suggest amendments to four revenue related laws — the Maharashtra Agricultural Lands (Ceiling on Holdings) Act, 1961, the Maharashtra Land Revenue Code, 1966, the Maharashtra Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act, 1948, and the Maharashtra Prevention of Fragmentation and Consolidation of Holdings Act, 1947.
The committee, under retired bureaucrat Umakant Dangat, has already submitted some initial suggestions on the Maharashtra Agricultural Lands (Ceiling on Holdings) Act, 1961.
The suggestions include how Class-II land can be converted to Class-I after laying specific conditions. “We have suggested some amendments. They will ultimately be cleared by govt,” Dangar said.
The committee had received over 100 suggestions from citizens and experts. Many retired bureaucrats from the revenue department had also suggested simplified processes for citizens.
“These old laws don’t fit the current scenario, given the massive urbanisation in the state,” a senior revenue official said.