Maharashtra will issue property cards instead of 7/12 extracts in parts of municipal corporations, municipalities and incorporated villages that have not yet undergone city surveys, according to a government decision reported by Sakal. The change is intended to bring urban property records under a system more suited to municipal areas and simplify proof of ownership for residents.
The decision applies to areas within municipal limits and incorporated villages where city surveys have not been completed or where the city-survey scheme has not yet been implemented. In these locations, land records are still maintained through 7/12 extracts linked to group numbers, even though the land has become part of an expanding urban settlement.
Under the new arrangement, the concerned local authority will have to submit a proposal to the Land Records Department before the survey process can begin. The decision has been taken under provisions of the Maharashtra Land Revenue Code, according to the report.
The survey and property-card process will be funded through the district annual plan or the Nagarotthan scheme. The municipal corporation or municipality will be required to deposit the allocated funds with the district superintendent of land records. The actual survey work will begin after this step, placing the responsibility for initiating the process with local bodies rather than leaving it entirely to the Land Records Department.
The change addresses a record-keeping problem created by urban expansion. In several areas added to city limits, residents continue to rely on 7/12 extracts even though their properties are being bought, sold, financed and developed in an urban setting. The continued use of agricultural-style land records can create technical difficulties during property transactions, loan processing and attempts to establish ownership, the report said.
A property card is expected to provide property owners with a more accessible legal record of ownership once the relevant city survey has been completed. The government has also stated that residents will not have to bear the cost of the survey, as funding will be provided through government-linked planning schemes and deposited by the local authority.
The decision does not set out a common completion deadline for all affected municipalities or identify the areas where surveys will begin first. Its implementation will therefore depend on local bodies preparing proposals, securing or allocating funds and depositing those funds with the land records authorities. Until the survey is completed and new property cards are issued, existing 7/12-based records will continue to be relevant in the affected areas.
