Jaipur: The state govt is finalising sweeping reforms to the land conversion framework aimed at eliminating procedural requirements that are considered unnecessary and often delay project approvals.In urban areas, for instance, land parcels are already earmarked for specific uses under master plans. Yet, developers are still required to obtain land conversion approvals before undertaking activities permitted under the designated land use. A similar situation exists in rural areas.A senior official in the revenue department said that it has already drafted the proposed reforms and forwarded them to the law department for vetting.“Such provisions have only encouraged red tape, leading to avoidable delays in approvals. Once the reforms are notified, applicants will no longer have to make repeated visits to govt offices for permissions that serve little purpose,” the official said.Hel said several procedural requirements have been removed. “Once the law department completes its vetting, the proposal will be placed before the top levels of the govt for final approval before being rolled out,” the official added.Property developers have welcomed the move. “These reforms were long overdue. If a project conforms to the land use specified in the master plan, there is little justification for requiring a separate land conversion approval,” said a Jaipur-based developer.The proposed changes are aimed at reducing bureaucratic delays that have slowed industrial, housing and infrastructure projects across the state.The reforms are also aligned with the Centre’s Business Reforms Action Plan (BRAP), which encourages states to simplify change of land use (CLU) procedures to improve the ease of doing business.
