Bawankule hints at major land law reform, amend plot size restrictions
Speaking to reporters in Delhi, he said, "We are bringing a law that will permit one-guntha plot development in residential areas. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has already directed necessary amendments to the land fragmentation act, and we are initiating the next phase of reforms."
The move is expected to unlock the real estate potential of smaller parcels of land deemed undevelopable under the existing law.
Bawankule said the Mahayuti govt has so far taken 17–18 key decisions under the revenue department, with implementation already underway.
The minister also said the govt is working on two other legislative measures during the same session, 'One State One Registration' and the provision of vertical ownership rights for high-rise properties, which aim to simplify property transactions and clarify title ownership in urban settings.
Bawankule, who was in Delhi to meet Union power minister Manohar Lal Khattar, discussed the rehabilitation of residents from Kumbhari village in Mauda taluka near Nagpur. The village falls within the NTPC project area, and Bawankule urged that resettlement of affected households be done in the same manner as agricultural land acquisition. "Houses too must be rehabilitated on par with farms," he said.
Reiterating the govt's commitment to promoting the Marathi language, the minister said, "All proceedings of the Maharashtra legislature are conducted in Marathi, and so are all signboards.
Marathi remains at the centre of official communication."
On Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 11-year tenure, Bawankule emphasised the transformation in women's representation across institutions. "From local bodies to Rashtrapati Bhavan, Modi has ensured that women are brought into the mainstream. No other govt has implemented such extensive initiatives for women's empowerment," he said. He credited the prime minister with championing 33% reservation for women in Parliament and state legislatures, calling it a historic step in strengthening their participation in governance.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
an hour ago
- The Hindu
Union Home Minister Amit Shah to address BJP's booth committee conference in Tirunelveli on August 22: L. Murugan
Union Home Minister is set to make yet another political visit to Tamil Nadu on August 22 when he would address the BJP's booth committee conference in Tirunelveli. Disclosing this to journalists on Sunday in Chennai, party leader and Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting L Murugan said: 'BJP state president Nainar Nagendran will preside over the meeting. Booth agents from five parliamentary constituencies including Kanniyakumari, Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi, Tenkasi and Virudhunagar will participate in the first such conference. We are planning to hold more conferences as we progress.' In response to a query on Chief Minister M K Stalin's criticism of the alliance, Mr. Murugan said the AIADMK-BJP alliance is going strong. To another question about a few well known personalities quitting AIADMK and joining DMK recently, he said it is quite a common occurrence and claimed DMK leaders are in touch with the BJP. However, Mr. Murugan refused to share further details and said they would be known in coming months. On the recent searches by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) at the premises of State Rural Development Minister I Periyasamy, he contended the agency functions independently based on available inputs. Mr. Murugan criticised VCK founder and MP Thol. Thirumavalavan on the recent protest by a section of conservancy workers in Chennai and alleged he 'was not raising issues relating to Dalits during the DMK regime'. He also backed Governor R N Ravi's remark on school education in the State and said the state government should focus on addressing the infrastructure gaps in government schools. Mr. Murugan said from August 18 onwards 38 trains operating across Tamil Nadu will stop at additional railway stations. The Minister said he continuously received petitions from the public demanding that express trains, superfast trains and passenger trains should stop at additional railway stations and he took it to the attention of Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw who accepted the demands of railway passengers and issued necessary orders for extra stoppage. Mr. Murugan said the Tamil Nadu government has been given about ₹10 lakh crore in the last 10 years to implement social welfare schemes including modernization and expansion of national highways, airports and ports. The Union government has given ₹6626 crore for the state's railway projects in 2025-26, while during the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance regime between 2009-2014, this allocation was ₹879 crore, he said. Mr. Murugan added under the Amrit Bharat Railway Stations Scheme, work is being carried out at a fast pace to upgrade 77 railway stations in Tamil Nadu at an estimated cost of ₹2,948 crore. The Minister said work of laying new tracks for a distance of 2,587 km is under way at an estimated cost of ₹33,467 crore, and 10 new railway lines, 3 broad gauge railway lines and 9 double-track lines are being constructed.
NDTV
an hour ago
- NDTV
50% US Tariff Casts Shadow Over India-US Bilateral Trade Agreement Talks
New Delhi: The sixth round of talks scheduled to finalise the outline of the proposed bilateral trade agreement (BTA) between India and the US has been postponed. Government sources said the American delegation was scheduled to come from August 25 to 29 to hold negotiations on the bilateral trade agreement. The decision by the US trade delegation comes at a time when the deadline to implement US President Donald Trump's decision to impose 50 per cent tariffs on India will come into effect (on August 27). Talks between Mr Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Alaska have also yielded no concrete outcome. Earlier, India and the US failed to reach an agreement on a mini trade deal. One of the main reasons was the US' demand for lower duties on agricultural and dairy products, which India declined. India has made it clear that it cannot allow the import of genetically modified (GM) foods. During his address from the Red Fort on the 79th Independence Day on August 15, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said India's farmers, cattle-rearers and fishermen are the government's top priority. "I stand as a wall against any harmful policy concerning them. India will never accept any compromise when it comes to the interests of farmers, cattle-rearers and fishermen," PM Modi said. A senior Commerce Ministry official told NDTV US officials verbally expressed their inability to visit India, so both countries have decided to reschedule the sixth round of talks soon. The India-US bilateral trade agreement began in March this year, with the aim of concluding its first phase by October-November this year. Several virtual meetings between the two sides have already taken place. India is currently reviewing the implications of the recent developments. The Ministry of Commerce and Industry is consulting all stakeholders to assess their feedback, sources said. India's major exports to the US include mobile phones, cut and polished gemstones, textiles, and pharmaceutical products. The imposition of the 50 per cent reciprocal tariffs is expected to impact these four sectors the most. Labor-intensive sectors like textiles are projected to suffer particularly. "Boosting the morale of stakeholders (exporters) is essential. Everyone passed a resolution expressing their full support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Exporters also stated that they will explore alternative markets," Union Textile Minister Giriraj Singh told NDTV on Wednesday after a long meeting with large textile exporters. The meeting discussed the strategies required to deal with the impact of the 50 per cent US tariffs. Textile exporters demanded financial assistance from the Union minister to cope with the tariffs and also suggested the introduction of a relief package.
Mint
2 hours ago
- Mint
Centre working on framework to help panchayats become financially-autonomous
New Delhi: The government is working on a framework to help village councils (panchayats) generate their own revenue and become financially autonomous, carrying out development works without relying on funds from the Centre or states. The Union Panchayati Raj ministry has set up a panel, consisting of senior officials from various state governments, which is tasked with formulating a blueprint that can act as a guide for states and Union territories (UTs) in creating and amending their model OSR (Own Source of Revenue) rules. "We have constituted a committee comprising senior officials from various state governments, to prepare a model OSR framework of panchayats, which can serve as a benchmark for the states in formulating and amending their OSR rules," Vivek Bharadwaj, secretary, ministry of panchayati raj, said. The template, to be shared with states and UTs, aims to plug the gaps in existing regulations and guide local bodies in mobilising revenue, which mainly comes from taxes, fees and other charges. The development assumes significance, as nearly a dozen states and UTs don't have OSR rules. The 22 states and UTs that have already formulated the rules need to update them, said Bharadwaj. Own Source Revenue (OSR) refers to the revenues that panchayats generate on their own, from sources such as property tax, water charges, market fees, trade licence fees and building permit fees. OSR rules help regulate, standardize, and empower panchayats to collect and manage the revenues efficiently. The OSR rules are crucial to panchayat as they empower them to function independently and also reduce over-dependence on central and state grants. Additionally, they support local development projects with locally-generated funds. According to Bharadwaj, there are 11 states and UTs that have not yet framed OSR rules. These include Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Manipur, Nagaland, Sikkim, Uttar Pradesh, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Ladakh and Lakshadweep. Twenty two states and UTs have already developed and implemented OSR-based regulations, allowing panchayats to levy and collect taxes, fees, tolls, or other local sources of revenue. Among these states are Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka. Some States have detailed guidelines on fixing OSR rates. In many instances across the states, it has been observed that much more efforts need to be made towards fulfilment of these requirements. "Financial rules related to OSR generation were prepared long ago in states, and hence have been suffering from various deficiencies like use of incomprehensible legal jargons and lack of updating," Bharadwaj added. Panchayats, which act as grassroots-level bodies to implement government programmes and for achieving the sustainable development goals, get grants from the Centre, state governments, as well as raise their own revenue in a limited way through internal sources like local-tax revenues and user charges. "Self-sufficiency is an ideal state for gram panchayats as they can have more funds to carry out developmental works. However revenue collection is conditional as it depends on economic activities in a particular area," said Sri Hari Nayudu, economist, National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP), New Delhi. "Most of the time we are dependent on state government grants for developmental works, since most of us doen't know how to increase revenue. The proposed rules can guide us in that direction," said Gurcharan Singh, Panch-Charik Patti Sarkar, a rural local body in Moga district of Punjab. In 2021-22, the average per capita OSR collected by panchayats at all-India level was ₹ 100. Also, the average OSR for gram panchayat was ₹ 230,000 per year, with 42% of gram panchayats having less than ₹ 100,000 revenue per year. "The key reasons behind low revenue collection are over-dependence on grants, underutilization of tax powers, weak administrative systems and trust deficit with citizens which limit the revenue," said an economist who requested not to identified.
