Odisha Developers Push for Land Conversion Reform to Boost Urban Development
Leading real estate developers in Odisha have called on the state government to reform its land conversion framework, arguing that the decades-old system is causing project delays, escalating costs, and slowing down urban development. This demand follows recent policy shifts in states like Maharashtra and Karnataka, where governments have eliminated the need for separate non-agricultural (NA) conversion approvals.
In Karnataka's greater Bengaluru area, land conversion is now treated as automatic during building plan approval, while Maharashtra has scrapped NA permission altogether. 'The situation in Odisha is completely different,' the developers said, adding that they continue to navigate a permission-laden system involving multiple authorities, lengthy scrutiny, and inconsistent interpretations of land records—a process that often stretches projects by months.
'These reforms in other states show that land conversion is integral to planned urban development. In Odisha, the system is still cumbersome and heavily dependent on multiple permissions, unlike the notification-based models elsewhere,' Pradipta Kumar Biswasroy, chairman of Odisha Developers' Federation (ODFED), said. He added that builders must secure clearances from bodies like the Bhubaneswar Development Authority and then separately obtain NA conversion orders from the revenue department, along with the mandatory on-site verification for environmental compliance.
Projects in districts like Khurda and Puri face additional hurdles due to terrain and record-related complexities. Developers argue that outdated or unclear land records and frequent changes in regulations add further uncertainty. Conversion from leasehold to freehold land also complicates access to bank loans and impacts property transactions. The developers called for integration of land conversion with the building plan approval system to ease the process.
'Once land use is determined under the master plan by the development authority, another round of clearances from tehsildars and district offices only creates redundant layers,' Umesh Pattnaik, the general secretary of ODFED, said. Industry bodies believe adopting reforms similar to Maharashtra and Karnataka could position Odisha as an investor-friendly market at a time when its cities are expanding rapidly. They say a more streamlined system would lead to faster project completion, greater transparency, and a more predictable regulatory environment.
