Buying a plot: NA conversion checks in Maharashtra and Karnataka after the 2025 and 2023 changes

Rules and rates as of 19 October 2026.

Most farmland on the edge of Pune or Bengaluru is still, on paper, agricultural land. A house can legally come up on it only after the land's use is changed to non-agricultural, or "NA". Plot sellers often say a plot is "NA" or "converted". That is a claim you can check, and the rules for checking it have changed in both states.

This explainer covers the new Maharashtra system, Karnataka's section 95, what to ask for in each state, and what the new Maharashtra premium works out to in rupees. For the wider question of plot versus flat, and RERA's gaps on plotted schemes, see our separate guide on land and flat title risk.

Maharashtra: the NA permission system has been replaced

Many guides still describe sections 42A to 42D of the Maharashtra Land Revenue Code, 1966. These sections covered "deemed" conversion of land inside development plan and regional plan areas, and they were the basis of the topic we set out to write about. They are no longer the rule.

The Maharashtra Land Revenue Code (Second Amendment) Bill, 2025 (L.A. Bill No. XCVII of 2025) was passed by the Legislative Assembly on 10 December 2025 and by the Legislative Council on 11 December 2025. The text as passed:

• Deletes sections 42A, 42B, 42C and 42D, and also sections 44, 44A, 45, 46 and 47A (the old conversion tax).
• Substitutes a new section 42. No permission of the Collector is needed to change land from agricultural to non-agricultural use where that use is permitted under a draft or final development plan or regional plan. The planning authority grants development permission or approves the building plan instead.
• Brings in a one-time premium (new section 47). The planning authority must recover it before it grants development permission or approves the building plan. It is a share of the land's current market value under the Annual Statement of Rates (the ready reckoner).
• Keeps the occupancy class. For land that is not Class-I occupancy land, the class does not change merely because development permission is given.
• Charges older conversions too. Land converted on or before 31 December 2001 pays the premium on the 2001 ready reckoner. Land converted from 1 January 2002 until the Act starts pays on the rates of its year of conversion.

The State's Objects and Reasons say the aim is "to omit the provisions of requirement of non-agricultural permissions". In practice, the planning authority's development permission is now the document that matters most. In the Pune region that authority may be the Pune or Pimpri Chinchwad municipal corporation, or PMRDA in its area.

Two points need care. First, the new section 42 works only where a plan permits the use. The text as passed says nothing specific about land outside any plan. Second, we read the bill as passed by both Houses, not the gazetted Act, so the date it came into force is something your lawyer should confirm. Commentaries say it was published on 31 December 2025, and a copy of a Revenue Department resolution dated 10 February 2026 that circulates online sets a one-year window to pay the premium on old conversions. We could not open either on an official site.

Worked example: the Maharashtra one-time premium

The new section 47(2) sets three slabs by land area:

• Up to 1,000 sq m: 0.1% of current market value
• Above 1,000 sq m up to 4,000 sq m: 0.25%
• Above 4,000 sq m: 0.5%

Formula: premium = area (sq m) × ready reckoner rate (₹ per sq m) × slab rate. We have read the slab as applying to the whole area, as the text is worded; your lawyer or the planning authority should confirm. The ready reckoner rates below are illustrative, not actual rates for any village.

Land	Area	Ready reckoner (illustrative)	Market value	Slab	Premium
Bungalow plot	200 sq m	₹12,000/sq m	₹24,00,000	0.1%	₹2,400
Plot at the slab edge	1,000 sq m	₹6,000/sq m	₹60,00,000	0.1%	₹6,000
One sq m over	1,001 sq m	₹6,000/sq m	₹60,06,000	0.25%	₹15,015
Two-acre layout	8,093.71 sq m	₹3,000/sq m	₹2,42,81,139	0.5%	₹1,21,406

Workings: 200 × ₹12,000 = ₹24,00,000, and 0.1% of that is ₹2,400. For 1,001 sq m, 1,001 × ₹6,000 = ₹60,06,000, and 0.25% is ₹15,015. Two acres is 2 × 4,046.86 = 8,093.71 sq m, so 8,093.71 × ₹3,000 = ₹2,42,81,139, and 0.5% is ₹1,21,406.

The lesson is that the premium itself is small next to the price of a plot. The expensive risk lies elsewhere: buying land whose plan zoning does not allow a house, or a plot in a layout that never got development permission. For a single plot inside a larger layout, ask who paid the premium for the layout and ask to see the receipt.

Karnataka: section 95 and the two routes

In Karnataka the rule is section 95 of the Karnataka Land Revenue Act, 1964. The Karnataka Land Revenue (Amendment) Bill, 2023 (L.A. Bill No. 10 of 2023) substituted clauses (i) and (ii) of section 95(2), to allow conversion on a self-declaration. Its text sets up two routes:

• Land covered by a published master plan. No permission of the Deputy Commissioner is needed to divert land to non-agricultural use if that use is in line with the master plan published under the Karnataka Town and Country Planning Act, 1961. The owner pays the prescribed fee under section 95(7) to the town planning authority, with a self-declaration.
• Land outside a local planning area, with no master plan. The owner applies to the Deputy Commissioner with an affidavit. Other authorities have 15 days to give an opinion, failing which they are taken to have no objection. If the Deputy Commissioner does not decide within 30 days, the diversion is deemed approved, and is then certified and issued, subject to the fee.

A later bill, the Karnataka Land Reforms and Certain Other Law (Amendment) Bill, 2025, amends section 95 again (mainly to exempt small industrial and renewable-energy land), and its text treats the 2023 wording as the existing law. We did not find the 2023 commencement notification on an official site, and the fee amounts under section 95(7) are set by rules we could not open. Some law-firm notes from 2026 also describe further simplification inside the Bengaluru metropolitan area. Treat those as leads for your lawyer.

What to ask the seller for

In Maharashtra:

• A zone certificate or plan extract showing residential use for the survey number.
• The planning authority's development permission or approved layout or building plan, and the premium receipt.
• A current 7/12 extract with mutation entries updated after the permission, and the occupancy class.

In Karnataka:

• The master plan land use for the survey number.
• The self-declaration and fee receipt, or the Deputy Commissioner's order or deemed-approval certificate.
• A current RTC (pahani) showing the change of use, and the approved layout from the planning authority.

Two more points to raise with your lawyer. A Class-II or restricted-tenure entry on a Maharashtra land record can mean a transfer needs separate approval, and the new Maharashtra section 42 says permission alone does not change that class. And an old NA order or sanad for a different use, such as industrial, does not cover a house.

Where to get help

None of this replaces a title search. A property lawyer in the district can pull certified records, read the plan zoning against the survey number, and confirm which version of the law applied on the date of conversion. For a loan, ask the lender in writing which conversion documents it needs before you pay a token.