Bought a plot in an unauthorised layout? Maharashtra has two cut-off dates, and 15 Oct 2024 is only one

Rules as of 13 October 2026.

Buy a plot in an "unauthorised layout" in Maharashtra and you will be told, sooner or later, that it will be "regularised". Ask by when, and under which law, and the answers often blur. There are in fact at least two separate regimes, with different cut-off dates, covering different problems. Mixing them up is how buyers end up believing a plot is safe because it was bought "before the cut-off", when the cut-off they have in mind belongs to another law.

Two laws, two cut-offs

	Fragmentation Act, section 9(4)	Gunthewari Developments Act, 2001
Problem fixed	A transfer or partition that broke the minimum-area rule (a "fragment")	An unauthorised layout or development of plots without approvals
Cut-off	On or before 15 October 2024 (from 15 Nov 1965)	Developments existing on 31 December 2020 (earlier 1 January 2001)
Who acts	Applies by law, as a deeming provision	Plot-holder applies to the Planning Authority
Cost	No premium	Conditions set in the Act, including surrender of plots (see below)

The 15 October 2024 date is the one that went viral. It comes from the Fragmentation Act amendment (Ordinance X of 2025, section 9(4)), which I read in the ordinance and in the replacement bill. It has nothing to do with whether a layout was approved. The Gunthewari Act's cut-off is a different date: the 2021 amendment, passed by the Assembly on 3 March 2021 and the Council on 4 March 2021, replaced "the 1st January 2001" with "the 31st December 2020" in section 3(1).

What the Gunthewari Act requires

The text of section 3, as reproduced in a legal database, sets out the following (I could not open the India Code PDF, so please have your advocate check the gazetted text):

• The development must have existed by the cut-off date. Plots formed after 31 December 2020 are excluded.
• The plot-holder applies to the Planning Authority under section 4.
• Ten per cent of the plots in the layout vest in the Planning Authority free of cost, but only plots that are "unsold and unbuilt" (section 3(2)(a)).
• Roads. Marginal open spaces may have to be surrendered to reach a nine-metre road (municipal corporation, special planning authority and new-town areas) or four and a half metres elsewhere, or the Development Plan width (section 3(2)(b)).
• Exclusions. Not eligible: forest land, Coastal Regulation Zone and eco-sensitive areas, hill stations and certain tourism areas, land under acquisition for a public purpose, plots where civic services are not feasible, plots that obstruct infrastructure, matters that are sub judice or barred by court orders, and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, as that database lists the exclusions. If you are in Thane, Navi Mumbai or other MMR areas, ask your advocate how this exclusion applies to you.

The text I read does not show the charges or penalties. I have therefore left out any fee figures: quoted rates vary by authority, and I could not confirm them from an official source.

A worked example: why the 10% rule matters to a buyer

Suppose a layout has 50 plots. Ten per cent is 5 plots. Assume each is worth ₹12 lakh (illustrative). Those 5 plots would be worth ₹60 lakh in total (5 x ₹12,00,000), and they must go to the Planning Authority free, if they are still unsold and unbuilt. The point for you: if you buy one of the unsold plots now, in a layout still waiting for regularisation, it could be one of the plots that is later handed over. Before paying, ask the seller in writing which plots are earmarked or likely to be surrendered, and what happens to your money if yours is one of them.

What "bought before the cut-off" does and does not protect

• Under the Fragmentation Act, covered splits are deemed regularised "without charging any premium". That fixes the split only. The text does not mention layout approval, building permission or NA conversion.
• Under the Gunthewari Act, regularisation is not automatic. The plot-holder must apply, and the plot must fall outside the exclusions.
• A plot created after the relevant cut-off is outside both provisions. For the Fragmentation Act that means a split after 15 October 2024. For the Gunthewari Act it means a layout formed after 31 December 2020.

What the buyer should check

1. Which problem does the plot have? A sub-standard-size split, an unapproved layout, or both. Each is cured (or not) by a different law.
2. The date it came into existence. Ask for proof of when the layout was formed or the plot was split: earliest sale deed, aerial or satellite history, tax receipts. Compare with 31 December 2020 and 15 October 2024.
3. Zone and reservations. Check the development plan for reservations, road lines, and red or green zones.
4. The status of the application. If a regularisation application was made, ask for the acknowledgement number and the Planning Authority's latest order.
5. Who bears the cost. Put in the agreement who pays any regularisation charges and what happens if the plot is excluded or partly surrendered.
6. Title chain and possession. Regularisation does not prove ownership. A registered deed alone is not proof of title either.
7. Loan eligibility. Many banks will not lend against unregularised plots. Ask your bank, in writing, what documents it accepts.

Mistakes to avoid

• Trusting a broker who says "everything before 2024 is legal now". That date belongs to one narrow law.
• Paying the full price when regularisation is only promised.
• Assuming a news-reported amnesty applies to your authority. Concessions are set by individual planning authorities, and reports of low take-up show the process is slow. A Hitavada report in August 2026 said about 1.5 lakh Gunthewari plots in the Nagpur Metropolitan Region were affected and that most applicants had already sold their plots.

Penal provisions for post-cut-off layouts are not covered here. I could not verify the claim, circulating online, that criminal action follows for layouts created after 15 October 2024. This is a general explanation, not legal advice.