Maharashtra Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Wednesday, 29 July announced the abolition of the registration fee on instruments of agricultural land partition executed among co-sharers and family members. The state government has issued a formal notification under Section 85 of the Maharashtra Land Revenue Code, 1966, directing that no registration fee will be levied on such partition deeds going forward. The move is part of a broader series of revenue department reforms aimed at simplifying land governance for farming families across Maharashtra.

What Changes for Farming Families

Until this decision, a fee of ₹200 was charged on instruments of agricultural land partition — including gift deeds — executed among family members, a practice in place since a 2016 government order. The scrapping of this fee is intended to make the family land partition process simpler, more transparent, and financially accessible, particularly for small and marginal farmers.

Minister Bawankule stated that the waiver is designed to eliminate financial friction and reduce procedural delays that have long burdened rural farming households. 'The waiver of the ₹200 registration fee on family agricultural land partitions is part of a broader push by the Maharashtra Revenue Department to streamline land governance, reduce procedural delays, and eliminate financial friction for farming families,' he said.

Amendments to Mamlatdars' Courts Act

Alongside the fee waiver, the Revenue Department has introduced key amendments to the Mamlatdars' Courts Act, 1906. A new Section 14-A has been inserted, enabling hearing notices to be served directly via email — addressing a long-standing problem where land route disputes dragged on due to deliberate evasion or non-receipt of notices.

Additionally, Section 21(5) has been introduced to deal with encroachers who fail to comply with a Tehsildar's order. Under the new provision, Tehsildars must explicitly specify in their orders that free police protection will be provided to the affected farmer upon application, should the encroacher refuse to vacate. The Home Department has issued strict instructions to all police stations ensuring that farmers are not denied protection due to minor technical oversights in the Tehsildar's order.

This ordinance was promulgated through a joint initiative of the Revenue and Home Departments, based on recommendations from a committee led by Pune Divisional Commissioner Sheetal Teli-Ugale.

Powers Delegated to District and Divisional Authorities

In another significant administrative shift, powers to regularise breaches of conditions for residential and agricultural lands — previously requiring approval at the State Secretariat in Mumbai — have now been delegated to local authorities. District Collectors can now handle cases involving penalties up to ₹10 lakh, while Divisional Commissioners will handle cases in the ₹10 lakh to ₹20 lakh range.

This decentralisation means citizens and farmers no longer need to travel to Mumbai for minor technical land violations or regularisation requests, significantly reducing administrative burden at the grassroots level.

Broader Reform Push by Maharashtra Revenue Department

The announcements collectively represent one of the more substantive rounds of land administration reform undertaken by the Maharashtra Revenue Department in recent years. The reforms touch three distinct pain points: the cost of family land partition, the speed of dispute resolution for farmland access, and the decentralisation of regulatory powers. Notably, the joint Revenue-Home Department approach to enforcing farmland path rights signals an intent to move beyond paper orders toward actual on-ground compliance. How effectively district machinery implements these changes will determine whether the reforms deliver tangible relief to Maharashtra's farming communities.