Learn everything about converting the Agricultural Land to Residential in Uttar Pradesh

If you are a developer and thinking of converting your agricultural land into a Residential property then you should be aware of the process of the conversion and the fees associated with it. This is why we have created this piece to cover everything in a nutshell.

Introduction

With the advent of civilization, it has become a practice to convert old agricultural lands into residential units. A number of driving factors can be responsible for this conversion but what lies in essence is the importance of what each set of land holds.

Importance of both types of land

Residential Land is important because:

1. Accelerates Economic Growth: With the help of the various construction activities different sources of income for the general public and even revenue are generated for the government officials.

2. Urbanisation: With the growing demand for housing accommodations in urban cities the development of residential units is required and this is where the importance of the residential properties lies.

3. Increase in the Standard of Living: With the help of better living opportunities close to the amenities, it becomes extremely important to have residential properties.

Agricultural land is important because of:

1. Generation of Economic Opportunities: Nowadays agricultural lands are mostly found in either the rural regions or in the outskirts areas and this is why agricultural activities become the most important source of income for the people living in these areas.

2. Food security: Agriculture is the practice that lays the foundation for the production of food thereby ensuring the availability of essential resources.

3. Benefits to the Environment: Agriculture is the well-known reason behind maintaining the ecological balance in the environment which directly promotes the health of soil and biodiversity.

What are the factors that lead to conversion?

• Development of the Economy: Conversion of the land from agricultural to residential drives economic development to the society as it leads to the generation of job opportunities and the creation of revenue for government bodies.

• Growth of the Population: With the growth of the population the need to convert agricultural land to residential units has become the need of the hour resulting in the creation of the pressure to convert lands.

• Creation of the Incentives: With the high rise in the demands the lands prove to be the generation of wealth for the landowners especially in the cases of lands located near high amenities and urban areas

What are the advantages of conversion of Agricultural land to Residential Land?

• Development of the Urban Area: With more requests for the conversion of agricultural land to residential units it becomes a way of investment in the different types of urban infrastructure ranging from schools, roads, hospitals and other utilities.

• Growth of the Economy: With the development of the urban areas more generation of economic activities along with the creation of jobs payment of higher taxes takes place which acts directly proportional to the growth of the economy.

What are the impacts of the conversion of agricultural land to residential?

Positive impact

As every coin has two sides so does every situation and condition holds. The positive impact of the conversion of agricultural land to residential is as:

• Development of the Infrastructure: With the conversion of the agricultural land to residential land various amenities such as schools, hospitals, roads, etc have been developed as it creates different types of income sources along with the creation of jobs.

• Economic Development: This point is the continuation of the above point both the points hold coo relation to each other. With the conversion of these areas lot of income-generating activities and the payment of taxes have been created which helps in the overall development of the economy of the area.

• Filling Housing Requirements: With the growing demand for residential properties due to the surge in the population of the country conversion becomes an essential element to fill all the housing requirements.

Negative impact

• Impact on food security: With the conversion of land food production is hampered which leads to the creation of issues related to food security and agricultural sustainability.

• Impact on the Environment: The conversion of the agricultural-rich land to a normal residential unit has a negative impact on the wildlife of the area which will also lead to the erosion of the soil and water pollution.

• Losing Rural Income: as we have already discussed in the initial phase of the article agriculture activities act as the primary source of the livelihood of the people living in the rural areas. Conversion of the land results in the loss of the economic activities of the people living in these areas.

What are the documents required for the conversion of Agricultural land to Residential Land?

• Title Deeds of the Property: The original documents related to the property that declare ownership and legal rights to the agricultural land.

• Identity Proof: All the identity proofs of the land owner such as the Aadhaar card, passport or voter ID, ration card, etc.

• Survey Map: A detailed Survey Map of the locality is required to be drawn up that truly depicts the boundary’s dimensions and existing features.

• Land conversion application form: this is the form that has been prescribed by the local authority for applying to them in the case of conversion of the land.

• Land  Valuation Report: It is that report which has been prepared by a certified valuer providing the market value of the agricultural land.

• Environmental Clearance Certificate: As the name implies it is the certificate provided after conducting the environmental impact assessment and thereby lastly attaining of the clearance certificate from the environment authorities.

• Revenue Records: Updated revenue records indicate the true land classification along with its use and tenure.

• Building Plan: It is the proposed plan that has been created by the licensed architect or an engineer to provide the layout of the residential development.

• No-Objection Certificate: As the name implies it is a certificate that is required to be obtained from the local authorities confirming that the land is not required for agricultural activities and is suitable for the purpose of conversion

• No Dues Certificate: An NOC is used for the purpose of confirming the conversion on the other hand A no dues certificate is used to confirm that no dues or any kind of legal matters are pending upon the land.

• Consent Letters: As the name suggests are the consent required from the neighbors or the adjoining landowners to confirm upon the conversion if required by the local rules and regulations.

• Affidavit: A sworn affidavit that clearly declares the intent behind converting the agricultural land to residential along with confirmation of all legal compliances so involved.

• Tax Clearance Certificate: A Tax Clearance Certificate is a certificate that confirms that all the taxes on the property have been paid in full.

• Sale Deed: A sale deed is a document that confirms the transfer of the ownership of the property to another.

• Partition Deed: A partition deed is a deed signed at the time when the property has obtained by way of inheritance.

• Record of Rights, Crops or Tenancy: The record of any rights of crops or tenancy needs to be clearly jotted down.

• Receipt of the Conversion fees: the receipt which clearly states the payment of the conversion fees as decided by the relevant local authority.

What are the charges for the conversion of the use of the land?

The receipt of the conversion fees constitutes an important piece of documentation while submitting the application for conversion. But what are these fees? And how much it is to be paid off? Is a question to think about. Therefore, it can be said that these fees differ from state to state however ideally it is the 30% of the total value of the agricultural land that is changed upon it.

Process of Converting the Agricultural land into Residential

The agricultural land can be converted to residential properties by following the two modes:

Offline mode

• Gathering Information: The first step in the offline mode is to gather all the relevant information such as all the relevant documents ranging from title deeds, encumbrance certificates, environmental clearance certificates, etc. Along with all the other required information such as the soil test reports, applicable local regulations and obtaining the required specification fees.

• Preparing the Application Form: The next step in the process is to prepare the application form which includes obtaining the relevant application form from the competent relevant authority. These authorities may range from to local development authority, land development authority and the revenue department.

• Submitting the Application Form: The application form is then submitted to the designated office along with all the required documents. The application can be submitted either in person or through the registered post.

• Payment of the Applicable Fees: While submitting the application for the conversion of the agricultural land to the residential the applicant is also required to make the payment of the relevant fees of the same time.

• Approval Procedure: The next step in the process is the viewing of the application by the relevant authorities. There assessing offices assess the application on the basis of its compliance with the local and regulations. If the land is complicated then it may involve consultation with the stakeholders or public hearings.

• Receiving the Decision of the Authorities: Though the time frame for the procedure is not set as soon as it is completed a written notification is received by the local authority accepting or rejecting the approval. The approvals are generally based on the fulfillment of certain conditions. The maximum time frame for getting the decisions of the revenue department is 45 days.

Online procedure

• Login to the Portal: The first step is to open the online Nivesh Mitra portal Uttar Pradesh.

• Register on the Portal: After visiting the website the next step would be to register yourself on the portal using the personal and contact details.

• Generation of the Password: You will receive the password through an email/text message. Now with the login ID and password login to the portal.

• Filing the Application Form: After login to the portal the applicant is required to fill the application form.

• Select some Important Fields: Select some of the important fields such as the chosen unit, permission, department and the service as – change of land use (CLU) and then click upon proceed.

• Attaching important documents: The next step in the process will be to attach all the required documents as discussed above.

• Inspection of the Application: The application will then be inspected by the SDM and then sent for further inspection by the tehsilDar.

• Submission of the Inspection Report: Tehsildar then submits their inspection report back to the SDM.

• Raising of the Queries: If the SDM finds it necessary to raise the necessary enquires based on the inspection report submitted by the tehsildar the necessary enquiries are raised at this stage.

• Submission of the Response: The applicant will submit their response to the enquiries raised by SDM.

• Certificate uploaded: The SDM after hearing from the applicant will send the certificate for upload to the portal.

• Payment of the Fees: The applicant then makes the payment of the required fees.

• Download of the Certificate: Lastly, the certificate is easily available for the landlord to download from the portal.

Conclusion

Conversion of agricultural land to residential land in up comes with different sets of pros and cons as Uttar Pradesh has very rich soil which makes it a bit difficult to obtain the land conversion certificates but with the right documentation the process an be completed swiftly.

Frequently Asked Questions on Converting Agricultural Land to Residential in Uttar Pradesh

Q1. What is Rule 143 in Uttar Pradesh?

Ans 1. Under the Rule 143 it gives the authority to SDM to change the use of the land from agricultural to residential.

Q2. How to know if the land is agricultural or residential in Uttar Pradesh?

Ans 2. For understanding whether the land is agricultural or residential can be ascertained from the website of upbhunaksha.gov.in 

Q3. What is the conversion fee for agricultural land to residential land?

Ans 3. The conversion fee may range from 3% to 9%

Q4. How to convert agricultural land into residential in UP?

Ans 4. The agricultural land can be easily converted to residential properties by submitting all the required documents.

Q5. How much land can a farmer own in Uttar Pradesh?

Ans 5. Anyone un purchase a total of 12.50 acres of land.

Q6. Is khatauni proof of ownership?

Ans 6. A khatauni is a legal document that serves as proof of ownership of the land.

Q7. What is the registration charges for residential land in Uttar Pradesh?

Ans 7. The registration charge in the 1% value of the transaction is up.

Q8. What is the stamp duty on agricultural land-in-up?

Ans 8. The stamp duty up is to 7% of the total value of the transaction.

Q9. Is tax payable on the sale of agricultural land?

Ans 9. No, the sale of the agricultural land is an exemption.

Q10. Can a house be constructed on agricultural land?

Ans 10. No, the houses cannot be built upon the agricultural land until and unless the property is converted.