The Gujarat government has reduced the unit measure of agricultural land by half or more – and has, for the first time, made the minimum size of the land unit the same across the state.

According to the government, the changes, carried out by amending a 70-year-old law, are a response to current socio-economic and land use realities, and intended to balance “agricultural interests with developmental needs”.

The “survey number” – a standard area and unique identification assigned to record land holdings – has been universalised to 10 gunthas, or 1,012 square metres. This measure ranged between 20 gunthas, equivalent to a little more than over 2,000 sq m, and 3 acres (12,140 sq m) in different parts of the state.

A guntha is a traditional unit of area that is equal to about 101 sq m. The new survey number of 10 gunthas is about the same as a quarter of an acre (0.25 acres). Land meant for agriculture cannot be fragmented beyond this unit.

The government promulgated an ordinance in July to amend The Gujarat Prevention of Fragmentation and Consolidation of Holdings Act, 1947. This was followed by two notifications issued by the Revenue department on August 12.

The government is expected to table a Bill to replace the ordinance in the three-day Monsoon Session of the state Assembly that begins on Wednesday (September 9). The law has been effective from July 14, 2026 onward.

Nature of agricultural landholding

The objective of the fragmentation law, which was enacted when Gujarat was part of the Bombay Province, was to prevent the fragmentation of agricultural land holdings and to provide for consolidation, with a view to secure agricultural efficiency and ensure orderly management of agricultural land.

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Any land deal or partition of land in violation of the provisions of the Act invites legal action including the imposition of a penalty.

According to the last agriculture census held in Gujarat in 2015-16, the operational area under agriculture is 99.7 lakh hectares, and the total number of landholders is 53.2 lakh. Large landholders constitute just 0.75% of this number, and own 5.91% of the land.

The largest chunk of holdings belongs to “semi medium” farmers who account for 21% of the numbers and hold 31.7% of the land, according to the Socio Economic Review published in the last state Budget.

Why shrink the unit base

The ‘standard area’ of agricultural land has traditionally differed depending on the geography, ranging between 20 gunthas or half an acre to 3 acres for different types of land such as ‘jirayat’ (rain-fed land) and ‘bagayat’ (land that is irrigated by wells, canals, etc.)

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A statement of intents and purposes annexed with the Ordinance reads, “The [1947] Act has been in force for more than seven decades. During this period, substantial changes have taken place in the socio-economic conditions of the State, patterns of land use and agricultural practices. In view of these developments, it has become necessary to review certain provisions of the Act to ensure that its objectives are achieved in a manner consistent with present-day requirements.”

Experts say that fragmenting land beyond the standard area can reduce its productivity and sustainability. Gujarat is perhaps the only state in the country that has universalised the standard area across all land types. Maharashtra has amended the law to define the standard area as 0.25 acre for ‘bagayat’ land and 0.5 acre for ‘jirayat’ land.

Increasing urbanisation in Gujarat

The new law will only apply to rural areas. Through a notification, the government has exempted urban areas from the new rule regulating the minimum size of a land unit that should be registered as a new survey number.

According to the census of 2011, almost 42% of Gujarat’s population lived in urban areas, a percentage that is likely to have increased since then. The government has upgraded 9 civic bodies, taking the number of municipal corporations in the state to 17, and the state’s urban sprawl to more than 50%, as per estimates made by the government.

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Gujarat aims to become 75% urban by 2047, as per targets announced in the state budget of 2024-25.

The government statement says, “With expansion of urban and municipal areas, agricultural lands situated in such areas and their periphery have been included in residential, commercial, and industrial zones under Development Plans, rendering such lands more suitable for non-agricultural use.

“Notwithstanding this, transfers and partitions of such lands, effected in contravention of the provisions of the Act, have led to creation of fragmented holdings. Due to statutory restrictions, or such transactions reflected in record of rights evidence are in violation of provision of the Act at relevant time, thereby preventing occupants from obtaining requisite permissions for commencement of non-agricultural use.

“In order to resolve the said issue it is necessary to amend the Act to meet current socio-economic and land use realities and to balance agricultural interests with developmental needs of the State.”

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Besides urbanisation, population growth is also seen as a reason behind the fragmentation of landholdings.

Legal proceedings to be abated

The ordinance has provided for regularisation of any transfer or partition of land done in violation of the Act between January 29, 1948 (when the law was enacted) and March 31, 2026 (the end of the last financial year). Such actions were penalised under the Act, and penalties and related proceedings were effected at the level of the district collector.

“…A transfer or partition of a land contrary to the provisions of this Act made on or after the 29th January, 1948 but on or before 31st March, 2026 shall be deemed to have been regularised without charging any penalties or premium therefor and all pending proceedings before any officer or authority in respect of the aforesaid transfer or partition shall abate,” states a sub-section added to the Act through the ordinance.

This means that any pending revenue proceedings arising out of the alleged violation of the Act in the said period will be abated and the land deals will be regularised, provided they are consistent with the standard area earmarked by the ordinance.

Resolving inheritance issues

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An official of the Revenue Department said: “With the change in socio-economic conditions in the state, it had become imperative to revise the standard area size under the Act.”

There were practical issues as well, the official said: “Suppose a man has three sons and 30 guntha land (in a particular area of the state), the three could not have their own survey numbers since the earlier version of the Act prohibited that. There was also a view that with new technologies and irrigation facilities, effective farming with good yields can be achieved even in smaller parcels of land.”

According to the official, with separate survey numbers, a farmer’s sons/ daughters get exclusive ownership over their piece of land, and can take independent decisions to sell the land or obtain a loan against it without depending on the co-owners.

Another official said, “Urban areas have been exempted from the implementation of the Act for various reasons that include unviable farming and rising prices of even smaller parcels of land in those areas for other development needs.”