Rajasthan has two conversion routes, and which one applies to your land decides everything else. Outside urban limits and their peripheral belts, the Rajasthan Land Revenue (Conversion of agricultural land for non-agricultural purposes in rural areas) Rules, 2007 apply. Where an urban body or development authority has jurisdiction, it is Section 90-A. This page is the rural one, written from the consolidated rules as updated to December 2023, with the rule number against every statement so you can check it yourself.
शहरी सीमा और परिधीय पट्टी के बाहर ग्रामीण रूपांतरण नियम, 2007 लागू होते हैं; शहरी क्षेत्राधिकार में धारा 90-A। नीचे हर बात के साथ नियम संख्या दी गई है।
What needs no conversion at all
किन कामों के लिए रूपांतरण की ज़रूरत ही नहीं
The rules carve out several uses you can put your own khatedari land to without a conversion order. In each of these the land stays in your khatedari.
| Rule | Use | What the rule allows |
|---|---|---|
| Rule 5 | A dwelling house, cattle shed or store house | Up to 500 square metres, with no conversion charges under Rule 7. The area stays in your khatedari tenancy. 500 वर्ग मीटर तक मकान, पशु-शाला या भंडार गृह — कोई रूपांतरण शुल्क नहीं, ज़मीन खातेदारी में ही रहती है। |
| Rule 6 | Micro or small industry, kjawa, institutional, medical or public utility | Up to one acre of your own khatedari land needs no conversion permission at all. The area remains in your khatedari. अपनी खातेदारी भूमि पर एक एकड़ तक — सूक्ष्म/लघु उद्योग, कजावा, संस्थागत, चिकित्सा या जन-उपयोगी कार्य — अनुमति की आवश्यकता नहीं। |
| Rule 6A | A food processing unit | Up to ten hectares, with no conversion permission required. You inform the Tehsildar in Form-H within 30 days, and the Tehsildar issues a certificate in Form-I within 30 days of receiving it. Subject to Rule 4. दस हेक्टेयर तक — अनुमति नहीं, पर 30 दिन में फ़ॉर्म-H से तहसीलदार को सूचना; तहसीलदार 30 दिन में फ़ॉर्म-I में प्रमाण-पत्र जारी करते हैं। |
| Rule 6B | Solar, wind, biomass, biogas, BioCNG and CBG projects | No conversion is required. You inform the Tehsildar and the Rajasthan Renewable Energy Corporation in Form-E thirty days before the intended use, and the Tehsildar notes it in the Jamabandi. The land stays in your khatedari, and it may be sublet. रूपांतरण आवश्यक नहीं — उपयोग से 30 दिन पूर्व फ़ॉर्म-E में तहसीलदार व RREC को सूचना; तहसीलदार जमाबंदी में नोट करते हैं। ज़मीन खातेदारी में रहती है और उपपट्टे पर दी जा सकती है। |
| Rule 6C | A heritage property becoming a heritage hotel | An application on plain paper with the Tourism Department's recommendation. No conversion charges. Commercial use is capped at 1,000 square metres or 10 per cent of the existing building's plinth area. सादे कागज़ पर आवेदन व पर्यटन विभाग की अनुशंसा — कोई शुल्क नहीं। व्यावसायिक उपयोग अधिकतम 1,000 वर्ग मीटर या भवन के प्लिंथ क्षेत्र का 10 प्रतिशत। |
| Rule 6D | Hydrocarbon exploration | No conversion permission for up to fifteen years of use or subletting. You inform the Collector thirty days in advance. An approach way at least 15 feet wide is required. पंद्रह वर्ष तक उपयोग या उपपट्टा — अनुमति नहीं; 30 दिन पूर्व कलेक्टर को सूचना। कम से कम 15 फुट चौड़ा रास्ता आवश्यक। |
| Rule 6E | Storing bajri (river sand) | Up to ten hectares, applied for through the online portal at one rupee per square metre per year. The application is approved automatically, and the permission covers sand from one lease only. दस हेक्टेयर तक — ऑनलाइन पोर्टल से आवेदन, एक रुपया प्रति वर्ग मीटर प्रति वर्ष। आवेदन स्वतः स्वीकृत; अनुमति केवल एक लीज़ की बजरी के लिए। |
Rules 6A and 6B each carry a proviso: a khatedar who would rather have a formal conversion order may still apply in Form-A and pay the charges, and the prescribed authority issues the order under Rule 9.
Where conversion is never permitted
कहाँ रूपांतरण की अनुमति नहीं मिलती
Rule 4 lists land for which no permission shall be granted. This list is worth reading before you buy, not after.
- Land under acquisition — under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013
- Land inside road or railway boundaries — any railway line, national or state highway, or any road maintained by government or a local authority — or within the distance the Indian Roads Congress guidelines specify from the centre of a national highway, state highway, major district road, other district road or rural road, whichever is longer
- Within 1.5 km of village abadi — for an industrial unit, lime kiln, crusher unit or industrial area. This does not apply to a brick kiln, a non-polluting industry, or small and cottage industry
- Catchment and pathways — land in the catchment of a tank, village pond, river, nala, lake, or used as a pathway to a cremation or burial ground or village pond — even if it is not recorded that way in the village map or revenue record
- Within 10 m of an underground pipeline — of any company's right of way
- Within 50 m of an oil company storage depot
- Within 1.5 km of a defence ordnance depot
- Within 1.5 km of village abadi for an explosive magazine
- Within 300 m of a petroleum or petrochemical installation
Who decides, and it depends on area
कौन निर्णय लेता है — क्षेत्रफल के अनुसार
Rule 9 sets the prescribed authority by purpose and area. These are the figures in the consolidated rules as updated to December 2023; older tables still circulate online and no longer match.
| Purpose | Prescribed authority |
|---|---|
| Residential unit | Tehsildar, up to 4,000 sq m |
| Residential colony or project | SDO up to 10,000 sq m · Collector up to 50,000 sq m · State Government above 50,000 sq m |
| Commercial purpose | SDO up to 5,000 sq m, excluding cinema, petrol pump, explosive magazine, multiplex, hotel and resort · Collector up to 50,000 sq m · State Government above |
| Industrial area or purpose | SDO up to 10,000 sq m, excluding a tourism unit · Collector up to 2,00,000 sq m including tourism units · State Government above |
| Salt manufacturing | SDO up to 2,00,000 sq m · Collector above |
| Public utility | SDO up to 10,000 sq m · Collector up to 50,000 sq m · State Government above |
| Institutional and medical | SDO up to 10,000 sq m · Collector up to 50,000 sq m · State Government above |
| Food processing unit | SDO up to 10,000 sq m · Collector up to 50,000 sq m · State Government above |
| Solar, wind, biomass and related | SDO up to 10,000 sq m · Collector up to 50,000 sq m · State Government above |
| Hydrocarbon exploration | Collector |
| Stadium, playground, sports complex | Collector |
| SEZ and Integrated Township | State Government |
Where a residential colony straddles an urban body or its peripheral belt and a rural area, Rule 9 provides that conversion is done by officers authorised under Section 90-A, and the urban rate applies to the whole area.
How much of a colony becomes plots
कॉलोनी की कितनी ज़मीन प्लॉट बनती है
Rule 9(2), in terms: for residential colonies or projects in rural areas, 40 per cent of the total land is reserved for public facilities including roads, and the remaining 60 per cent is used for the colony — including 5 per cent of the total land for commercial and institutional purpose. Conversion charges are payable on the total area, not on the saleable part.
For an industrial area or estate the split differs: 70 per cent for industry, of which up to 3 per cent of the total may be used commercially, and 30 per cent reserved — 5 per cent open area, 15 per cent public facilities including roads, and 10 per cent essential welfare and supporting activities.
आवासीय कॉलोनी: 40% सड़क सहित सार्वजनिक सुविधाओं हेतु, 60% कॉलोनी हेतु (जिसमें कुल का 5% व्यावसायिक/संस्थागत)। औद्योगिक क्षेत्र: 70% उद्योग, 30% आरक्षित।
The layout plan, and who signs it off
Rule 9(2) puts layout approval with a committee, not an individual. Where the prescribed authority is the Collector or the State Government, the committee is chaired by the District Collector with the Additional District Collector (Administration) as member secretary, the Sub Divisional Officer concerned, the Executive Engineer posted in the Zila Parishad, and the Zonal Senior Town Planner or Deputy Town Planner. Where the authority is up to the rank of SDO, the committee is the SDO, the Tehsildar concerned and the Deputy Town Planner.
Timelines the rules actually set
नियमों में तय समय-सीमाएँ
- Ordinary route (Rule 9(3)): the prescribed authority up to the rank of Collector issues the conversion order in Form-B, or informs you of rejection or the balance payable, within 90 days of a completed application.
- After you pay the balance (Rule 9(4)): the order follows within 15 days of the challan reaching the authority.
- If the authority misses the deadline (Rule 9(5)): the officer is liable to disciplinary action, and the matter escalates — the Collector passes the order within 30 days where the authority was an SDO, the Divisional Commissioner where it was the Collector.
- Tatkal (Rule 9A): decided within fifteen working days, for a fee of ten thousand rupees plus five rupees per square metre, which is non-refundable and cannot be adjusted against the conversion charges.
- Tourism units (Rule 9(8)): if the application is not disposed of within 45 days, the land is deemed converted.
These are the periods the rules prescribe. What a file actually takes depends on whether it is complete, and we do not publish estimates of our own.
Three trees for every one removed
Form-A asks how many trees stand on the land and how many are likely to be removed, and requires an affidavit that the applicant is ready to plant three trees for each one. Condition (V) of the conversion order in Form-B repeats it: the applicant may remove the stated number of trees on condition of planting three times that number within a year, failing which a penalty of ₹500 per year applies for each tree left unplanted.
फ़ॉर्म-A में पेड़ों का विवरण और तीन गुना पौधारोपण का शपथ-पत्र; फ़ॉर्म-B की शर्त (V) में यही शर्त, और न लगाने पर प्रति पेड़ प्रति वर्ष ₹500 जुर्माना।
Separately, protected species carry their own restrictions — Khejri and protected trees on development land.
After the order: what changes in the record
Rule 12 sets out what follows. The Tehsildar reduces the area from the khatedari land by making entries in the revenue record. The land is entered as non-agricultural, with the purpose recorded in the soil classification column of the Jamabandi. A copy of the approved layout plan, superimposed on the converted khasra numbers, is attached to the Jamabandi. Where converted land is transferred, the khatedar informs the Tehsildar, who opens a mutation in Form P-21 of the Rajasthan Land Revenue (Land Records) Rules, 1957 on the basis of the deed.
तहसीलदार राजस्व रिकॉर्ड में प्रविष्टि करते हैं; जमाबंदी के मृदा-वर्गीकरण कॉलम में प्रयोजन दर्ज होता है; स्वीकृत ले-आउट जमाबंदी से संलग्न; हस्तांतरण पर फ़ॉर्म P-21 में नामांतरण।
Three rules people find out about too late
- Use it within five years, or lose both (Rule 14). Converted land must be used for the converted purpose within five years of the order, or the order is withdrawn and the conversion charges are forfeited to the State Government. The Collector may extend by five years on payment of twenty-five per cent of the charges prevailing at the time of extension. An opportunity of being heard must be given before withdrawal and forfeiture.
- Unlawful conversion is regularised at four times (Rule 13). A person who used agricultural land for a non-agricultural purpose without permission applies for regularisation with a challan for four times the charges under Rule 7. The reduced one-and-a-half-times window closed on 31 December 2018.
- Changing the purpose needs a fresh order (Rule 10). Using converted land for a different non-agricultural purpose requires an application in Form-C and the difference in charges, answered with a revised order in Form-D. Doing it first and asking later costs an additional twenty-five per cent under Rule 10(3A).
Transfer, reversion and refund
- Transfer (Rule 11). Duly converted land may be transferred. Converted land may not be transferred in part without prior permission, except for a residential colony or project, industrial area or estate, integrated township or tourism unit.
- Reversion (Rule 14). A person may apply at any time to revert the land to its original use. The status returns to what it was, but no amount paid is refunded. Reversion is barred where an SC or ST khatedar converted and then transferred to a person who is not a member of that category.
- Refund (Rule 14A). Conversion charges are refunded only where the application is rejected, or withdrawn before the order issues — and 5 per cent is deducted as administration charges.
- Interest (Rule 16). Twelve per cent a year on charges not deposited within the time the authority specifies.
The rules reward a complete file and punish an incomplete one. Rule 19-A requires a check list in Form-F prepared by the Tehsildar’s office, and it runs to nineteen items — distance from every class of road, whether any part is catchment or pathway, whether a high-tension line crosses the land, whether litigation is pending, whether the applicant is over the ceiling limit. Every one of those is a question worth answering before you apply, not after an objection.
Source: Rajasthan Land Revenue (Conversion of agricultural land for non-agricultural purposes in rural areas) Rules, 2007, notification no. F.6(6)Rev.6/92/Pt./14 dated 2 April 2007, consolidated with amendments to December 2023, published by the Revenue Department at landrevenue.rajasthan.gov.in. Rule numbers cited above refer to that text. Amending notifications are numbered and dated in the consolidated copy. Rules change — check the current text before you act, and consult a qualified professional for your own parcel.