Maharashtra to regularise small, fragmented land plots free of cost, clearing clouded titles

Maharashtra's revenue department has ordered the free regularisation of small land parcels that were bought or sold in breach of the Fragmentation Act, the "Tukdebandi" law that long restricted the splitting of agricultural holdings. Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule said no penalty or fee will be charged, and the adverse remark flagging such transactions will be removed from the 7/12 land records.

Officials have indicated the relief could touch around 60 lakh families. The decision is set to cover transactions made between November 1965 and October 2024, and allows small plots — up to one guntha, or about 1,089 square feet — created before January 2025 to be legalised. A state committee is preparing a standard operating procedure for how the clean-up will be carried out.

The significance for property lies in the paperwork. A "fragmentation" remark on a title can stall resale, transfer and mortgaging, leaving holders unable to fully use or monetise land they have paid for. Removing it converts a large stock of irregular plots into clean, transferable titles.

For the wider MMR and its fringes — peri-urban Thane, Raigad and Palghar, where small-plot deals and title disputes are common — cleaner records can ease land aggregation for redevelopment and townships and lower due-diligence risk for buyers. As always, the practical impact will depend on how the SOP is written and enforced on the ground.