OCTOBER 19:Planning to buy one of those farmhouses nestling in lush greenery on the outskirts of the city? It would serve you well if you have the antecedents of the land checked out with both the forest department as well as the Land Revenue officials, lest you find yourself on the wrong side of the law.Bureaucracy being what it is, state officials, would not put much by just a saat - bara (7/12) extract, (land revenue receipt) which shows a clear private ownership of the land. For all that revenue officials might know, the land could have already been taken over by the forest department or orders could be pending. Following the series of raids and seizures of farmhouses in the Raigad district carried out by the forest department officials recently, prospective buyers are wary and unsure of the rules and regulations that govern the conversions of farmlands to farmhouses. State government officials have a one thumb rule to queries: After approaching the local revenue department, go to the forest department.It works like this: Under the Land Revenue Code, only the individuals already owning farmland can purchase agricultural land. Further, if at all the land is purchased, it has to be used for cultivation and no one other than the person who buys the land can cultivate the land. The local authority to authorise the sale and purchase of such lands is the Collector of the area.``It is often very difficult to obtain the permission of the collector, so a via-media is used through the formation of a cooperative society by members. In this case, the society becomes independent which gets the land on lease from the local people showing horticulture as one of its main purpose,'' a state government official explains the modus-operandi. In such a case, the permission of the Collector is exempted. It is different that under the garb of a horticulture venture, huge farmhouses are constructed violating the Land Revenue Code. ``Under the code, there are strict specifications on the size of the farmhouses to be constructed, since they are secondary to the purpose of buying land. The primary purpose being cultivation,'' said the official. In effect, all those huge farmhouses constructed are actually illegal.As far as acquiring of land by the Forest Department under the Forest Conservation Act, the Collector has to pass orders to the revenue department for changing the relevant records, which are never done on time. Sometimes the forest officials fail to intimate the revenue department on time or as shown in the recent case, collude with the developers. As a result, 7/12 extracts might show clear records allowing the society to get the farmland on lease. It is best, said the official, if a person were to approach the forest department as well as the revenue departments to get a clear picture of the little corner he would want to dip his urban elbow into.
