Agricultural to residential conversion in UP (Section 80)

Most land sold as "plots" around Ayodhya, Lucknow and Gorakhpur is agricultural in the revenue record. That is not a defect; it is the starting point. Turning it into land you can lawfully build a house on is a defined process under Section 80 of the UP Revenue Code, 2006, and it is worth understanding before you decide whether the seller does it or you do.

What the declaration is

A bhumidhar with transferable rights, that is, the recorded holder of the land, applies to the Sub-Divisional Officer for a declaration that the land is to be used for a non-agricultural purpose: residential, commercial, industrial. When the declaration is made, the land's category in the khatauni changes and the holder's rights become those of a non-agricultural holder. Rent and the revenue treatment change with it.

The declaration is about the revenue record. It is not a building permission. The development authority, ADA, LDA or GDA, still decides whether and what you can build, through its master plan and its layout and building approvals. A plot converted under Section 80 in a green belt is a converted plot in a green belt.

Who applies, and where

The recorded holder applies, in the tehsil, to the Sub-Divisional Officer with jurisdiction over the village. The application carries the khasra number, the area, the intended use and the fee. The SDO may inspect, may call for objections, and passes an order; the Code sets a period for the decision, after which the declaration is treated as made if no order has been passed. Keep the dated acknowledgement; it is what proves the period ran.

If you are the buyer, you cannot apply until you are the recorded holder, which means after registration and mutation. That is why the cleaner order is: seller converts, then sells. It costs the seller a fee and some weeks, and it should cost you a higher price, because you are buying a solved problem.

What it costs and how long it takes

The fee is set by the state and varies with the area and the use; it is small next to stamp duty. The time is the SDO's decision period plus any inspection or objection, in practice a few weeks to a few months. Neither is the real cost. The real cost is the difference in price between agricultural and converted land in the same locality, and who bears it.

After conversion: the authority

With the declaration in hand, building needs the development authority's approval: a sanctioned layout if the land is being divided into plots, and building permission for each structure. Within a development authority's area, converting land and then cutting plots without a layout is how unauthorised colonies are made, and the authority can act against them. If the plot you are buying is one of many being sold from a single converted holding, ask for the layout approval and the RERA number; without both, the what you cannot buy guide has a section for you.

The order that works

1. Confirm the land is transferable and the seller is the recorded holder: the six checks.
2. Confirm the master plan zone allows the use you want.
3. Decide who converts. Seller before sale is cleaner; you after mutation is cheaper up front and slower.
4. Register, mutate, and only then apply if the conversion is yours to do.
5. Take the declaration to the development authority for layout or building permission before a single brick.

Civil Lines, 5.9 km from the Ram Mandir, is already built up and largely past this process; the villages a few kilometres out are where it applies to nearly every plot. Ask which case yours is before you pay.