Maharashtra cabinet gives nod to convert over one lakh acres class II land in Marathwada to freehold

Mumbai: The Maharashtra cabinet on Tuesday cleared a proposal to convert more than one lakh acres of class II land in Marathwada region of the state into freehold, making the occupants complete owners.

Nearly 1.4 lakh acres of land in Marathwada, comprising eight districts, was classified as class II, a government official said.

The class II status was a hurdle for occupants wishing to develop these areas, he said.

Class II occupancy is a conditional holding in which land is given to individuals for various reasons, including as rewards and to religious structures for their maintenance. The demand to convert the land to freehold is nearly 60 years old, he said.

The cabinet's resolution to convert this land into freehold will have a positive impact on the current occupants, the official said, adding that the occupants will have to remit a certain amount to the state government to effect the transition.

The eight districts of Marathwada have 42,710.31 hectares of land identified as 'Khidmatmash' (given for maintenance of religious places) and 13,803.13 hectares of 'Madatmash' land (given as award).

At the time of Maharashtra's formation in 1960, when the Marathwada region became part of the state, detaching from the erstwhile princely state of Hyderabad, these awards were abolished. The state took control of these lands.

The government put a restriction on the occupant of the land over its transfer as well as utilisation. The issue remained unaddressed for nearly 60 years, an official said.

The Maharashtra government said in a statement that the Hyderabad Atiyat Inquiries Act, 1952 and the Hyderabad Abolition of Inams and Cash Grants Act, 1954 would be amended to convert the currently class-II classified land into freehold. The state government has decided to charge only five per cent of the actual valuation of the land as per the ready reckoner rates.

The decision is based on a committee report headed by senior IAS officer Avinash Pathak, the statement said.

The cabinet has also approved a revised budget of Rs 36,964 crore for the construction of 6,000 km of concrete roads. Earlier, approvals for tar roads were estimated to be Rs 28,500 crore, but after the revision, the state government's contribution will go up by Rs 2,589 crore.

The state's total contribution will be Rs 11,089 crore for the construction of concrete roads. The contribution of Maharashtra - State Infrastructure Development Corporation (MSIDC) under the Public Works Department (PWD) has now increased to Rs 5,875 crore in this project. The corporation will manage these roads for 17.5 years, the statement said.

It has also extended the deadline for power looms to apply for concessions in power tariffs to March 2025. The power looms utilising more than 27 HP but less than 201 HP machines get 75 paise per unit rates. However, registration of such power looms is mandatory, which is now relaxed.

Similarly, power looms with less than 27 HP machines get electricity at Rs 1 per unit, which will also benefit from this relaxation, the statement said.

The cabinet also approved a proposal to establish solar power plants in Yavatmal, Washim and Chandrapur districts at a fixed interest rate. Germany's KfW Development Bank has granted a 130 million Euro loan for the installation of solar panels to generate power.

Initially, the loan was scheduled to be repaid at an interest rate of 0.05 per cent. However, the cabinet has decided to revise it to 2.84 per cent per year. The entire loan is to be repaid within a maximum period of 12 years. Consequently, the revised cost of the projects has decreased from Rs 1,564.22 crore to Rs 1,494.46 crore.