PUNE: Thousands of property owners under the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and other civic bodies are expected to receive relief as the government has repealed the Maharashtra Prevention of Fragmentation and Consolidation of Holdings Act (amended in 2015), commonly referred to as the Tukde Bandi law. This legislation imposed restrictions on subdividing land into smaller plots.
Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule announced during a recent assembly session that the state will now regularize land divisions of up to one guntha (1,089 square feet) made before January 1, 2025. This change will allow property owners to obtain registrations, building permits, and legal property rights. According to the minister, this initiative will benefit approximately 50 lakh families throughout Maharashtra. Data from PMC indicates that, out of around 1 lakh properties, only 800 have been regularized in the past five years due to legal hurdles.
Sudhir Kulkarni of the Nagari Hakka Samiti, a citizens’ group, remarked that repealing the Act could enhance state revenue. “To maximize this effort, however, fees charged to property owners by various government entities need to be reduced, including registration fees, regularization charges, and penalties,” he added.
Gunthewari development refers to plots created by unlawfully subdividing privately owned land, including vacant land under the Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act, 1976, that does not belong to the state, excluding encroached land. Such properties are regulated by the Maharashtra Gunthewari Development (Regularisation, Upgradation and Control) Act, 2001.
Prasad Hasabnis, a gunthewari expert, noted that costs for regularization have significantly risen compared to the earlier gunthewari scheme launched two decades ago. “Many owners of small properties are unable to regularize them due to exorbitant charges,” he stated.
Experts estimate that legalizing properties now costs approximately ₹6 lakh, compared to ₹50,000 when the previous scheme was introduced. The new scheme, initiated about five years ago, bases charges on local ready reckoner rates, unlike the earlier scheme that applied a fixed rate per square foot, unaffected by property location.
Civic officials mentioned that constructions on gunthewari land up until December 31, 2020, can be regularized under the new guideline. Regularization is prohibited in no-development areas, eco-sensitive zones, green belts, tourism locales, and areas of security concern. PMC has introduced specialized software to expedite the processing of gunthewari applications.
“The state has established a committee to assess the changes required for land registration following the repeal of the Tukde Bandi law. The civic administration will review the committee’s report and adjust gunthewari regulations accordingly,” stated an official from PMC’s building permissions department.
