The Maharashtra government issued a final notification allowing the conversion of leasehold lands and occupancy class II land to freehold status upon payment of a premium of up to 25 per cent of the Annual Statement Rates (ASR) or Ready Reckoner rates of the land area.
According to the gazette notification, the revised premium rates are applicable until 31 Dec 2025. Following the new rates, individual or private landholders and companies holding Class II land for residential purposes must pay a premium of 15 per cent of the ASR.
While occupancy Class II lands are those where the ownership comes with restrictions, leasehold lands are government-owned and leased to private persons, cooperative housing societies or industries.
Vikramaditya Dhamdhere, General Secretary of the Federation of Government Grantis Lands (FGGL), raised concerns over exclusions and procedural shortcomings in the notification.
Dhamdhere pointed out that the notification did not mention leasehold lands held by Cooperative Housing Societies, which meant these societies were being deprived of the 10 per cent and 5 per cent premium benefits available to CHS on Occupancy Class II land. Additionally, he criticised the limited timeframe for submitting suggestions or objections to the draft notification. He noted that the government had published the initial notification on 20 February and allowed only five working days, until 2 March, for citizens to submit their objections and suggestions.
Furthermore, the FGGL raised concerns about the restricted application duration under the scheme. Dhamdhere mentioned that the government had set the application period for freehold conversion concessions at just 10 months, until 31 December 2025, which he deemed inadequate and unfair to long-standing residents. He also emphasised the need for urgent reforms to benefit residents living on government-granted land for decades. According to Dhamdhere, these changes could affect nearly 2 million families residing in thousands of Cooperative Housing Societies on Occupancy Class II and leasehold land for the past 50-60 years.
