Gandhinagar: Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel has made a decisions to speed up digitization and introduce transparent online processes for agricultural land sales in the state.

Currently, when recording a sale note for agricultural land, the state requires farmers to provide a certificate proving their status as farmers from 1951-52. However, many farmers and applicants have raised concerns before Chief Minister about the challenges caused by unavailable records, verification delays, and issues related to non-cultivation permissions, leading to significant difficulties in the process. Since 1951-52, during the process of non-cultivation permits, many farmers have struggled to provide evidence of their original tenure as cultivators. This is often due to district expansions, natural disasters like floods, and missing sale records, making it difficult for older generations and current landholders to present proof. The state government has noticed instances where non-agricultural applications have been delayed or rejected because of these verification issues.

In response, the Chief Minister has made key decisions to simplify the process of sale notes and non-cultivation approvals, especially where original farmer verification records are unavailable. Now, only records after 6th April 1995 will be considered for verifying a farmer’s authenticity when authenticating the sale note of agricultural land. For land held before 6th April 1995, there will be no need to verify how the applicant originally acquired the land when approving new sale notes. The Competent Revenue Authority will confirm the sale note by checking the farmer’s online records and will not require a Certificate of Authenticity.

When recording a sale note for agricultural land in the title deed, the farmer must provide an affidavit confirming their status as the actual cultivator. The Chief Minister has also decided that for verifying non-cultivation applications, only records from after 6th April 1995 will be considered for older lands that have been converted but are eligible for non-cultivation premiums. Occupiers can take legal action if there are discrepancies regarding ownership or title during non-agricultural permission applications- Collectors are required to obtain this affidavit.

All other regulations for non-cultivation permissions will continue to apply and be strictly enforced by relevant authorities. These new provisions will not apply to cases currently under litigation or investigation regarding the farmer’s status. The state’s revenue department has issued resolutions outlining these decisions by Chief Minister Shri Bhupendra Patel. DeshGujarat