- Maharashtra’s Revenue Department, under Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule, is converting 7/12 (Satbara) extracts to Property Cards for land in villages absorbed into municipal council or corporation limits via boundary expansion.
- The trigger is administrative, not physical: once a village’s land falls inside a municipal boundary and City Survey (nagar bhumi mojani) is complete, the 7/12 extract for that survey number is discontinued and replaced by a Property Card.
- The record-keeping office changes from the Talathi (village revenue officer, 7/12 system) to the City Survey Office / Superintendent of Land Records (Property Card system).
- Landowners do not need to apply for the conversion — it happens through government-driven City Survey and record migration, but owners should verify their new Property Card details once issued.
- If your land is mid-conversion, both documents may temporarily coexist or show conflicting status — this is the highest-risk window for buyers and should be checked carefully before any transaction.
- The reform is being rolled out area-by-area as City Survey work is completed, not as a single statewide cutover date.
Reading time: 7 min | Last updated: July 2026 | By Girish Chhalwani, Founder & CEO, THE EDGE Developments
Maharashtra is phasing out the 7/12 extract for any land that falls inside a municipal council or municipal corporation boundary, replacing it with a Property Card once City Survey of that area is complete. This is not a cosmetic renaming — it is a jurisdictional shift. The 7/12 extract is a rural/agricultural revenue record maintained by the Talathi under the Maharashtra Land Revenue Code. A Property Card (Malmatta Patrak) is an urban record maintained by the City Survey Office. When a village’s boundary is absorbed into a nagar parishad or mahanagarpalika through a government notification, the land inside it eventually stops being tracked on the 7/12 register and moves permanently to the Property Card register instead.
What Triggered This Reform
Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule announced in 2026, with backing from Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, that 7/12 extracts would no longer be treated as the operative record for properties in villages merged into municipal corporation or municipal council limits. The stated rationale: once a village comes under urban limits, land use on the ground gradually shifts from agricultural to non-agricultural (NA) or residential/commercial use. Maintaining two overlapping record systems — a rural revenue record and an urban property record — for the same urbanising land creates confusion, slows down loan approvals, and leaves gaps that enable fraud (double records, mismatched ownership entries, disputes over which record is authoritative).
The Core Trigger: Boundary Expansion + Completed City Survey
Two conditions must both be met before a survey number’s 7/12 is discontinued:
| Condition | What It Means |
|---|---|
| Municipal boundary expansion notified | The village or gaothan has been formally brought inside a municipal council/corporation limit by a state government notification (this can happen years before record conversion). |
| City Survey (nagar bhumi mojani) completed | The Land Records Department has re-measured and re-mapped the area under City Survey rules, assigning CTS (City Survey/City Town Survey) numbers in place of, or alongside, the old survey/gat numbers. |
Only once City Survey is complete for a given village or pocket does the Revenue Department formally discontinue 7/12 issuance for that area and shift records to the Property Card register. This is why the rollout is uneven — some villages absorbed into municipal limits years ago still show 7/12 extracts because City Survey hasn’t been completed there yet.
What Changes for Landowners
Different Document, Different Numbering
Your land will no longer be identified by Survey Number/Gat Number (7/12 system) but by a CTS Number (City Survey Number) once conversion is complete. The Property Card carries different fields than a 7/12 — it does not have the crop/cultivation columns (Column 12) that a 7/12 has, since agricultural-use tracking becomes irrelevant once land is urban.
Different Office, Different Process
| Aspect | Before (7/12 system) | After (Property Card system) |
|---|---|---|
| Record-keeping office | Talathi / Tehsildar office | City Survey Office / Sub-Registrar of Land Records |
| Mutation process | e-Ferfar mutation via Talathi | Mutation entry via City Survey Office records |
| Online lookup | bhulekh.mahabhumi.gov.in (7/12) | mahabhumi.gov.in Property Card module (Mumbai Suburban) or mumbaicity.gov.in (Mumbai City); other districts via respective City Survey portals |
| Identifying number | Survey No. / Gat No. / Hissa No. | CTS Number (City Survey Number) |
Timeline: No Single Cutover Date
There is no statewide “switch-off” date for 7/12 extracts. The government has said formal orders will be issued area by area as City Survey work is completed in each municipal council or corporation. Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Nagpur, and other rapidly urbanising municipal limits are among the priority areas because large tracts of formerly rural villages have already been absorbed into their boundaries. Expect the reform to roll out over several years, not overnight.
How to Check If Your Village or Plot Is Affected
- Check municipal boundary status: Confirm with the local Gram Panchayat, Municipal Council, or Corporation office whether your village/gaothan has been formally merged into the urban local body’s limits.
- Check City Survey status: Visit the local City Survey Office (or ask your Talathi) whether nagar bhumi mojani has been completed for your survey number.
- Try both lookups online: Search your survey number on bhulekh.mahabhumi.gov.in for a 7/12. If it no longer returns a result but a CTS number search on the district’s Property Card portal does, your land has already converted.
- Ask for both documents during any transaction: If you are buying or selling land in a peri-urban area near Pune, Thane, Nashik, or similar rapidly expanding municipal limits, request both the 7/12 (or a discontinuation confirmation) and the Property Card status from the seller.
What to Do If Your Land Is Mid-Conversion
This transitional window is where most confusion — and risk — sits. Practical steps:
- Do not rely on a single document. Pull both the most recent 7/12 and check for any Property Card / CTS number assignment before finalising a purchase or loan application.
- Verify mutation continuity. Ensure ownership, area, and encumbrance details carried over correctly from the 7/12 to the new Property Card — data migration errors (wrong area, dropped encumbrance entries, mismatched owner names) are common during bulk conversions.
- Get a certified copy from the City Survey Office once your CTS number is assigned, rather than relying only on an online printout, especially for high-value transactions.
- Update your bank/loan records. If your land is already mortgaged against a 7/12 reference, inform your lender once the Property Card is issued so their records reference the correct document.
- Consult a title expert for boundary-area land. Land near a municipal boundary line is exactly the kind of parcel most likely to have mismatched or incomplete conversion records.
“We’ve seen this exact transition play out around Pune and Nashik over the past decade as villages got absorbed into municipal limits. The rule buyers should hold onto: during the conversion window, the safest move is to demand both documents and a City Survey Office confirmation, not just whichever one the seller hands you. A mismatch between the old 7/12 and the new Property Card is where disputes are born.” — Girish Chhalwani, Founder & CEO, THE EDGE Developments
Why This Matters for Buyers and Investors
For land near expanding municipal limits — a category that covers much of the investment corridor around Pune, Nashik, and Mumbai’s extended metropolitan region — this reform directly affects due diligence. A plot that was agricultural land verified via 7/12 two years ago may already be sitting inside a municipal boundary today, with its record quietly migrating to the Property Card system. Buyers who don’t check current municipal boundary status risk relying on a document that is about to become non-operative, or worse, missing a Property Card that already supersedes the 7/12 they were shown.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a 7/12 extract and a Property Card?
A 7/12 extract is a rural/agricultural land revenue record maintained by the Talathi, showing survey number, area, ownership, crop details, and encumbrances. A Property Card is the urban equivalent, maintained by the City Survey Office, showing CTS number, ownership, built-up/plot area, and encumbrances, without agricultural columns.
Why is Maharashtra discontinuing 7/12 extracts in some areas?
Because once a village is absorbed into a municipal council or corporation boundary and City Survey is completed, the land is administratively urban. Maintaining a rural revenue record for urbanised land creates duplicate, conflicting records that slow down loans and enable fraud.
Does this apply to all of Maharashtra immediately?
No. It applies only to villages/areas that have been formally merged into municipal council or corporation limits AND where City Survey has been completed. It is being rolled out area by area, not as a single statewide date.
How do I know if my land’s 7/12 has been discontinued?
Check with your local Talathi or City Survey Office, or try searching your survey number on bhulekh.mahabhumi.gov.in — if no 7/12 result appears and a CTS-based Property Card search on your district’s land records portal does return a result, your land has converted.
Who maintains Property Card records instead of the Talathi?
The City Survey Office, under the Superintendent of Land Records / Settlement Commissioner and Director of Land Records, Maharashtra.
What happens to agricultural land use rights when 7/12 is discontinued?
Once land is inside a municipal limit and converted to Property Card status, it is treated as urban land. Any continued agricultural use does not restore 7/12 status; NA (non-agricultural) conversion formalities may still be required separately for construction purposes.
Can I still get a 7/12 extract for land that has already converted to Property Card?
Generally no — once the Revenue Department formally discontinues 7/12 for that survey number, the City Survey Office’s Property Card becomes the operative record going forward.
Does the CTS number replace the old survey/gat number completely?
Yes, for record-keeping purposes going forward, though the old survey/gat number typically remains referenced in the property’s historical record for continuity and title-chain verification.
Should I worry if I’m buying land near a municipal boundary right now?
Yes — this is precisely the zone where conversion status can be ambiguous. Always check both 7/12 and Property Card/CTS status, and confirm with the local City Survey Office before finalising a deal.
Citations & Sources
- Maharashtra Revenue Department — Mahabhulekh portal: bhulekh.mahabhumi.gov.in
- Maharashtra Land Records / Property Card portal: mahabhumi.gov.in
- Mumbai City District Property Card records: mumbaicity.gov.in
- Public reporting on the Bawankule/Fadnavis 2026 announcement covering the Revenue Department’s decision to replace 7/12 with Property Cards in merged municipal areas.
Related Reading
- How to Read a 7/12 Extract in Maharashtra: Complete Guide for Land Buyers 2026
- How to Check Property Records Online in Maharashtra: Mahabhulekh, E-Ferfar and More
- Maharashtra Land Records Portals: The Complete Directory of Government Websites
Buying Land Near an Expanding Municipal Boundary?
THE EDGE Developments verifies 7/12, Property Card, and City Survey status before every land recommendation we make. If you’re evaluating a plot in a peri-urban growth corridor, talk to us before you sign anything.
connect@theedgedevelopments.com | Phone: +91-9664662938
