In another significant reversal of a decision taken by the previous BJP-led regime, Uddhav Thackeray's Maha Vikas Aghadi on Thursday stayed the policy for conversion of government plots previously allotted on lease or occupancy rights basis to freehold tenure. On March 3, 2019, the Devendra Fadnavis government had enacted a policy permitting the transfer of plots, allotted on such restricted land tenures, to ownership plots on payment of premium. According to the 2019 decision, residential societies holding plots allotted on occupancy rights basis were required to pay 10 per cent to 15 per cent of the ready reckoner (RR) values to convert these into ownership plots. RR values are market values of a plot as determined by the government. Those holding such restricted tenures for commercial and industrial purposes would have to pay up to 50 per cent of the RR values for such conversion. But contending that the response to the policy has been lukewarm, the Uddhav government stayed the policy on December 10. Sources said that the chief minister has ordered the formulation of a new policy.
