Conversion under section 90-A

What conversion is

भू-रूपांतरण क्या है

Agricultural land may lawfully be used for agriculture. Using it for anything else — houses, shops, a factory, a school, a warehouse, or subdivision into plots for sale — requires the permission of the competent authority. That permission is conversion, and in Rajasthan it is granted under the Rajasthan Land Revenue Act, 1956.

Conversion does not change who holds the land and it does not change the title. It changes the permitted use. That distinction matters: a converted parcel with a defective title is still a defective title, and Level 2's work does not become unnecessary because a conversion order exists.

Which provision applies

कौन सी धारा लागू होगी

The operative provision today is section 90-A of the Rajasthan Land Revenue Act, 1956. You will also see section 90-B referred to, particularly in older documents and in litigation, and the relationship between the two is worth understanding because sellers and even some professionals still use them interchangeably.

The Rajasthan High Court, in proceedings concerning regularisation of unauthorised land uses, referred to the State's authority under section 90-B of the Act of 1956 as it stood at the relevant time and section 90-A as it stands today — which tells you that 90-B belongs to an earlier statutory position and that 90-A is what governs now.

What actually varies by parcel is not the section but the rules. Conversion in urban areas and conversion in rural areas are governed by separate sets of rules made under the Act, with different application routes, categories, authorities and charges:

So the correct question on any parcel is not "is this a 90-A or 90-B case". It is: which authority governs this land, which set of rules applies, and what is the current text of those rules? Level 1, Lesson 6 gave the method for the first part; the authority answers the second and third.

The use categories

उपयोग की श्रेणियाँ

Conversion is granted for a stated purpose, not in general. The common categories are residential, commercial, industrial, institutional and, in some cases, mixed use. This has three consequences that people consistently miss:

• Land converted for one purpose cannot simply be used for another. Residential conversion does not permit a commercial godown.
• Charges and conditions differ by category, so the category chosen at application affects both cost and what becomes possible.
• A conversion order in your file must be read for its category. A buyer told "the land is converted" has been told almost nothing until the category and conditions are read.

The process

प्रक्रिया

1. Establish jurisdiction and zoning. Which authority, and what does the master plan or applicable land-use position show? Conversion contrary to the planned land use is not normally available.
2. Application to the competent authority in the prescribed form, with the title documents, revenue records, map and site plan.
3. Verification — of title, of the record position, of the parcel on the ground, and of whether any restriction applies.
4. Objections and reports from the relevant departments where required.
5. Demand for the applicable conversion charges and any other levies.
6. Order granting conversion, for the stated category, on stated conditions.
7. Record update so the change of permitted use is reflected.

Timelines vary widely by authority, category and completeness of the application. An agent who promises a client a conversion timeline is promising something they do not control.

Conditions — the part people ignore

शर्तें — जिन्हें कोई नहीं पढ़ता

A conversion order is not a permanent, unconditional change of status. Orders commonly attach conditions, and these are where a converted parcel quietly stops being converted:

• Time limit to commence the use. Conversion granted for a purpose that is never begun within the period specified can lapse or attract action.
• Use must match the category granted.
• Setbacks, coverage and building rules as applicable to the location.
• Payment of charges and any further levies as demanded.
• Compliance with the master plan and any reservation affecting the parcel.

Unauthorised conversion

बिना अनुमति उपयोग

Non-agricultural use without permission is not a small irregularity. It exposes the holder to penalty and to action in respect of the unauthorised use, and it creates a parcel that is difficult to sell, difficult to borrow against, and difficult to build on lawfully.

You will meet this constantly at the edges of growing villages and towns: houses on agricultural khasras, shops along a highway, plotted layouts sold without approval. The occupiers are often unaware there is a problem, because everyone around them has done the same thing.

Regularisation drives happen periodically. The state has from time to time run campaigns under which unauthorised uses and unapproved holdings can be regularised on payment and on conditions. Whether any such scheme is currently open, and what it covers, changes — check the current position with the authority rather than relying on what was true in a previous year. Buying on the expectation that a future scheme will regularise a defect is a speculation, not a plan.

What this means commercially

व्यापारिक मतलब

Conversion is the hinge on which most land value near a growing settlement turns. Three practical positions to be able to distinguish:

Sellers routinely price the second position as though it were the first. Being able to tell them apart, from documents rather than from conversation, is most of what separates a competent agent from an expensive one.