Knowledge - Nanjai and Punjai or wet and dry agricultural Land - Reg

Knowledge Nanjai and Punjai or wet and dry agricultural Land

When deciding the type of land that should be purchased or not, one should confirm whether the land is nanjai (wet  land) or punjai (dry land).  Apart from checking whether the land is legal, approach road to the land, passage to the land, water availability, etc., this is also an important aspect that should be given due consideration.

Generally, agricultural land is divided into two types. The dry land is known as punjai and the wet land is known as nanjai. The difference between the two depends on whether they are connected by an irrigation channel or not. According to a previous supreme court judgement, wet lands or Nanjai lands are meant to be specifically conserved for agriculture. Earlier, those land owners who wanted wet lands to be converted to non agricultural purposes had to obtain certificates from tahsildars stating that the plot had not been used for agricultural purposes for several years. Tahsildars had the right to clear such conversions in case there was no water available for irrigating the wet land due to growth of infrastructure in catchment areas of lakes. 

However, in 2011, the government withdrew the powers from tahsildars, believing them to be less resilient to pressure and stress for conversions, and provided them to district collectors. It is the duty of the district collector to visit the area and confirm whether the land for which conversion is applied for is suitable for agriculture. A final decision on reclassification would be taken by DTCP and CMDA. The owner applying for conversion would obtain a conversion order which could then be used to construct residential units on land.

The only way Nanjai land can be used for other purposes is by obtaining a NOC for building, residential layout or mixed development from the collector's house as a result of this change in rule.

On the other hand, it is easier to convert a dry land into specific purposes for example township projects or layouts.