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The Maharashtra Legislative Assembly has approved an amendment to the Maharashtra Land Revenue Code, enabling district collectors and divisional commissioners to handle nearly 90% of land-use violation regularisation cases. Introduced by Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule, the reform shifts decision-making from the state secretariat to local authorities, reducing administrative delays and procedural bottlenecks. The amendment introduces a statutory framework, including new provisions such as Section 37A, to replace earlier reliance on government resolutions that often led to legal ambiguity and prolonged litigation. Only high-value or complex cases will continue to be processed at the state level. The move is expected to streamline land governance, improve ease of doing business, and provide faster resolution for individuals and businesses dealing with land-use compliance issues.
The Maharashtra government has enacted an amendment to the Maharashtra Land Revenue Code, allowing district-level authorities to regularise most cases involving breaches of land-use conditions, with the Legislative Assembly approving the measure in the past week to decentralise administrative powers across the state. Advertisement
The amendment, introduced by Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule, enables district collectors and divisional commissioners to handle nearly 90% of land regularisation cases locally, marking a shift away from the earlier centralised system that required approvals from the Mantralaya in Mumbai. The reform is intended to reduce administrative delays and improve accessibility for applicants who previously had to navigate multiple layers of bureaucracy for even minor cases.
Officials indicated that under the revised framework, only cases involving high-value transactions or complex legal considerations will be referred to the state government, while routine matters will be resolved at the district or divisional level. This redistribution of authority is expected to ease the workload on the state secretariat and enable faster decision-making at the local level.
The amendment also introduces a formal legal structure for land regularisation by incorporating specific provisions within the Maharashtra Land Revenue Code, including Section 37A. Earlier, the absence of statutory backing meant that regularisation processes were governed through government resolutions and circulars, often resulting in legal ambiguities and prolonged disputes. The codification is expected to bring greater consistency and clarity to decision-making across districts.
According to the state government, the previous system created procedural inefficiencies, with even minor breaches being escalated to the Mantralaya, leading to delays and repeated visits by applicants. The revised approach aims to streamline processes by resolving cases closer to the point of origin, thereby improving administrative efficiency and reducing pendency.
The legislation received broad support in the assembly, with policymakers acknowledging the need to simplify land-related procedures and make governance more responsive. The reform is expected to benefit individual landholders, developers and businesses by providing a clearer and more predictable pathway for resolving land-use violations.
By introducing statutory clarity and decentralising authority, the state aims to strengthen land administration and create a more efficient regulatory environment. The measure aligns with broader efforts to improve transparency, reduce litigation, and facilitate smoother land transactions across Maharashtra, particularly in urban and peri-urban markets where regulatory compliance plays a critical role in project execution and investment activity.
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