There are two ordinary ways to get land for a factory, a warehouse or a workshop in rural Rajasthan. One is a plot in an industrial area developed by RIICO, the state’s industrial development corporation. The other is farmland bought from its owner and converted for industrial use under the rural conversion rules. Each route changed, or came under question, in 2026. Neither is the right one for everybody, and nothing here says which to choose: it says what to read before you pay.
संक्षेप में: कारख़ाने या गोदाम के लिए ज़मीन के दो रास्ते हैं — RIICO के औद्योगिक क्षेत्र का प्लॉट, या किसान से ख़रीदी गई खेती की ज़मीन का औद्योगिक उपयोग के लिए रूपांतरण। 2 नवंबर 2026 से ग्रामीण रूपांतरण के नए नियम लागू होने की ख़बर है, और RIICO को ज़मीन पर नए अधिकार देने वाली धारा 100A उच्च न्यायालय में चुनौती के अधीन है। भुगतान से पहले RIICO प्लॉट का आवंटन-पत्र और लीज़, और रूपांतरित ज़मीन का रूपांतरण आदेश और जमाबंदी ज़रूर पढ़ें।
What changed this autumn
- RIICO auctions. Business Standard reported on 5 October 2026 that online bidding in RIICO’s latest land auctions closed on 30 September, with 128 investors bidding for 12 plots of about 391 acres in six industrial areas: Maal ki Toos (Udaipur), Rabadka (Bhiwadi), IGP Jayrampura (Dausa), Bandikui (Dausa), Tanaja ka Bansa (Rajsamand) and Pipar (Udaipur). The plots were for industry, logistics and, at Maal ki Toos, tourism projects.
- Rural conversion rules, 2026. News reports say new rules replace the 2007 rural conversion rules on 2 November 2026: applications online, the Sub-Divisional Officer as the authorised officer, and the order issued automatically once an application is complete. Industrial use is reported in the same premium band as residential and public uses, and an industrial area keeps the split of 70 per cent for industry and 30 per cent for infrastructure, open space and support facilities. What is reported, and what is not.
- Section 100A. The Rajasthan Land Revenue (Amendment and Validation) Act, 2025, which received the Governor’s assent on 3 October 2025, makes RIICO the principal agency for industrial area development, with authority over land management, planning, development, conversion and disposal in industrial zones, and validates its past land decisions. A public interest petition challenges it; on 2 March 2026 the Rajasthan High Court issued notice and directed that action taken under Section 100A will abide by the final decision — our register entry. That is not a stay.
The two routes, side by side
What each route gives you, and what can take it away. The left column comes from the cases and reports cited below; the right from the 2007 rules and the reports of the 2026 rules.
| A plot in a RIICO industrial area | Farmland converted for industrial use |
|---|---|
| Who you deal with | |
| RIICO, which sells plots in its industrial areas, recently by online auction. | The landowner for the land, and the revenue office for the permission: the prescribed authority under the 2007 rules, and the Sub-Divisional Officer from 2 November 2026, as reported. |
| What you hold | |
| An allotment and a lease from RIICO, on the terms written in them. | Khatedari land with a conversion order, on the purpose, area and conditions written in the order. |
| Roads and services | |
| Only what the allotment and lease promise. An allottee who accepted land “as is where is” could not later demand an access road (Supreme Court, 2013). | The land needs an approach of its own; the 2007 rules ask for a recorded approach way, with an exception made in April 2026 for renewable energy projects. |
| Conditions that can cost you the land | |
| The lease’s conditions. The Supreme Court upheld RIICO’s cancellation of an allotment for not building (2013). | The order’s conditions. Under the 2007 rules they included using the land within five years. |
| Open questions this autumn | |
| Section 100A and the validation of RIICO’s past acts are under challenge in the High Court; action under it abides by the final decision. | The 2026 rules’ notified text is not yet public, nor what happens to applications pending on 2 November. |
Before you pay for a RIICO plot
- The allotment letter. In 2022 the Rajasthan High Court held that money deposited unilaterally, without an allotment letter, creates no right to claim allotment (M/s Mangalam Arts v. State of Rajasthan). If you are buying from an allottee, see the letter in their name.
- The lease, read in full. Its use clause, its building deadline and what it says about roads and services. RIICO v. Diamond & Gem (Supreme Court, 2013) turned on exactly these: no road the lease did not promise, and a cancellation for not building upheld.
- A transfer from an allottee. Ask RIICO’s office for the area, in writing, what a transfer needs and whether anything is due on the plot. Do not rely on the seller’s word for either.
- A plot whose history includes a change. A merger, a sub-division or a change of use that rests on a RIICO decision validated by the 2025 Act depends on a provision under challenge. Note it, and ask an advocate what it means for that plot.
Before you pay for farmland to use for industry
- The conversion order itself. Its purpose must be industrial, for the area you are buying, and its conditions met. Confirm that the jamabandi shows the land as non-agricultural. A promise that the land “can be converted” is not an order.
- Not barred. Under both the 2007 rules and, as reported, the 2026 rules, land under acquisition, catchments, road and rail land and land near petroleum installations cannot be converted. A purchase made after an acquisition notification is void against the State — RIICO v. Subhash Sindhi (Supreme Court, 2013).
- The approach. A recorded approach way, not a track across a neighbour’s field.
- Small units. The 2007 rules let some small industry run up to one acre without conversion (Rule 6). Whether that allowance survives the 2026 rules is not reported. Ask before relying on it.
- Timing. An application made before 2 November is decided under the 2007 rules, whose text is known; after it, under rules whose text is not yet public. Which suits a given unit is a question for an advocate.
Whatever the route, price the land on what it can be used for today, on paper, and not on what a seller says it will become. See also who can buy agricultural land, and the due-diligence checklist.
Questions
Can I buy farmland in rural Rajasthan and use it for a factory?
Only with permission to use it for industry, unless a use falls within an allowance in the rules. Until 1 November 2026 that is the 2007 rural conversion rules; from 2 November 2026, news reports say, new rules apply with online applications decided by the Sub-Divisional Officer. Read the conversion order before you pay.
What is Section 100A of the Rajasthan Land Revenue Act?
A section added by the Rajasthan Land Revenue (Amendment and Validation) Act, 2025. As reported, it treats land at RIICO’s disposal as vested in RIICO, gives it wide powers over disposal and change of use, and validates its past acts. A public interest petition challenges it, and in March 2026 the Rajasthan High Court directed that action taken under it will abide by the final decision.
Does paying RIICO money give me a right to a plot?
Not by itself. In 2022 the Rajasthan High Court held that an amount deposited unilaterally, without an allotment letter, creates no right to claim allotment. Ask for the allotment letter and the lease.
Will RIICO build a road to my plot?
Only if the allotment and lease say so. In RIICO v. Diamond & Gem Development Corporation (2013) the Supreme Court held that an allottee who accepted land “as is where is” could not later demand an access road the lease did not promise.
Sources
- Business Standard, 5 October 2026 — RIICO’s land auctions closing on 30 September.
- LiveLaw, 3 March 2026 — the High Court’s notice on the PIL against the 2025 Act and Section 100A (Shreyansh Mehta v. State of Rajasthan).
- Drishti IAS, 11 October 2025 — the Rajasthan Land Revenue (Amendment and Validation) Act, 2025, and RIICO’s powers under it.
- LiveLaw, April 2022 — M/s Mangalam Arts v. State of Rajasthan, on a deposit without an allotment letter.
- Our register: RIICO v. Diamond & Gem Development Corporation and RIICO v. Subhash Sindhi Co-operative Housing Society, Supreme Court, 12 February 2013.
- Gaon Junction, 4 October 2026, in Hindi — the 2026 rural rules, as set out in our article; and our explainer of the 2007 rules.