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+{{htmlmetatags>metatag-title=(NA Conversion Order Delayed at the Collectorate: Four Moves That Work)&metatag-description=(NA conversion order stuck at the collectorate? Track the file, invoke your state service guarantee timeline and use RTI. Steps inside.)&metatag-keywords=(Land and Property Records)&metatag-robots=(index,follow)&metatag-og:title=(NA Conversion Order Delayed at the Collectorate: Four Moves That Work)&metatag-og:description=(NA conversion order stuck at the collectorate? Track the file, invoke your state service guarantee timeline and use RTI. Steps inside.)&metatag-og:type=(article)}}
+====== Agricultural Land Conversion (NA) Order Delayed ======
+{{ :social:auto:practical-guides-agricultural-land-conversion-na-order-delayed.png?direct&1200 |Agricultural Land Conversion (NA) Order Delayed — RTI Wiki}}
+<WRAP center round info 95%>
+**Quick Reply:** NA conversion order stuck at the collectorate? Track the file, invoke your state service guarantee timeline and use RTI. Steps inside.
+</WRAP>
+**Reviewed on:** 2026-06-12.
+Do these four things this week, in this order:
+  - **Pull the exact status.** Check your NA application number on your state's revenue or land services portal, or at the conversion clerk's desk in the collectorate or SDM office. Ask one question: what is pending, and on whose table.
+  - **Clear anything pending from your side.** An unpaid conversion premium, an unanswered query memo or a missing zoning report stalls more files than official lethargy does. Pay or reply against a receipt.
+  - **Send a one-page written representation** to the officer who signs the order, the Collector, SDM or Tehsildar depending on your state, quoting the application number, the date of application and the timeline notified under your state's public service guarantee law.
+  - **File an RTI for the file movement** if the representation gets silence for two to three weeks. The collectorate is a public authority, and the file noting tells you the real reason.
+===== Who actually signs your NA order =====
+Land is a state subject. Conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural use happens under the state land revenue code, and the sanctioning authority varies: the Collector or an officer to whom the power is delegated, often the SDM or SDO, sometimes the Tehsildar for small parcels. Before the revenue order, the file usually collects a town planning or zoning report confirming your plot falls in a zone where the intended use is allowed. Files most often stall in the gap between these two desks. Your representation and your RTI should both ask which desk currently holds the file.
+===== The timeline you can hold them to =====
+Most states have notified NA permission or land conversion as a service under their public service guarantee law, with a fixed clock. Maharashtra lists conversion services under its Right to Public Services Act, 2015. Karnataka covers conversion under Sakala. Madhya Pradesh and Bihar have equivalent laws. Find the notified number of days for your state on its service guarantee portal and quote it. Once the clock is crossed, you can also file a formal appeal under that law to the designated appellate officer, which carries the possibility of a penalty on the defaulting officer. This is separate from, and faster than, anything under RTI.
+===== A state wrinkle worth checking first =====
+You may not need a full NA order at all. Maharashtra's amendments to the Land Revenue Code treat land already included in a residential zone of a final development plan as eligible for deemed or fast-track NA on payment of the conversion charge. Karnataka moved to an affidavit-based online conversion route for eligible cases in 2021, cutting the old file journey sharply. If your plot sits inside a sanctioned development plan zone matching your intended use, ask the collectorate in writing whether the deemed or fast-track route applies before you keep chasing the slow file.
+===== Worked example =====
+Prakash applied in August 2025 to convert 0.40 hectare in Nashik district to residential use. He paid a conversion premium of Rs 1,87,000 by challan in September. By February 2026, nothing. The portal showed only "under process". His representation to the Collector on 9 February quoted the notified service timeline and the challan number. On 2 March he filed an RTI asking for the date-wise file movement, the zoning report and the officer currently holding the file. The reply showed the town planning report had been received in November and the file had sat with a clerk for scrutiny since. The order issued three weeks after the RTI reply, before his first appeal fell due.
+===== RTI questions that move a stuck NA file =====
+<code>
+To the PIO, Office of the Collector, [district]
+Regarding NA conversion application no. [.....] dated [.....] for survey no. [.....],
+village [.....], please provide:
+. The current stage of the application and the name and designation of the
+   officer holding the file as on the date of this application.
+. A copy of the file noting sheet and the date-wise file movement register
+   entries for this application.
+. Copies of all reports received on the file, including the town planning or
+   zoning report.
+. The date of receipt of the conversion premium of Rs [.....] paid by challan
+   no. [.....].
+. A copy of the notified timeline for NA conversion under the [state] public
+   service guarantee law, and the reasons recorded for exceeding it.
+</code>
+File it on your state RTI portal or by post with the state fee. The [[state-rti-portals-directory|state RTI portal directory]] lists the right portal, and [[file-rti-online-india|this guide]] covers the format. If the PIO stalls, use [[act:section-19|the first appeal]].
+===== If the delay is actually a refusal =====
+Sometimes the file is not slow, it is blocked: the plot falls in a green belt, a buffer zone or a no-development zone, or an objection sits unanswered. The RTI reply will show this. If a rejection order exists, demand a copy with reasons. State revenue codes give an appeal or revision to a higher revenue authority within a fixed window, commonly 30 to 90 days, so get the order date in writing and act inside it. The documents you pulled by RTI become the evidence in that appeal.
+===== After the order =====
+Collect the sanad or conversion order, pay any balance assessment, and make sure the record of rights, the 7/12, khatauni or jamabandi for your survey number, is updated to the new use. If your ownership entry itself is pending, that is a different process, covered in [[practical-guides:agricultural-land-inheritance-mutation-delayed|inheritance mutation delayed]].
+===== FAQ =====
+==== How long should NA conversion normally take? ====
+States that have notified it as a guaranteed service mostly fix between 30 and 90 days for a clean file. Treat anything beyond the notified period as a delay you can formally appeal.
+==== Can RTI force the Collector to approve my conversion? ====
+No. RTI gets you the file status, the reports and the reasons. The pressure of a documented file trail is what moves the decision. Approval still depends on zoning and the revenue code.
+==== Is the conversion premium refundable if the application is rejected? ====
+Usually yes, since the premium is for a permission not granted, but the refund needs its own application. Ask for the refund procedure in writing along with the rejection order.
+==== My plot is in the residential zone of the master plan. Do I still need NA? ====
+In several states you get a deemed or fast-track route on payment of charges. Ask your collectorate in writing whether your plot qualifies. Do not assume; the answer depends on the plan and the state amendment.
+==== The clerk hints that money will speed it up. What do I do? ====
+Do not pay. Put your representation on record, file the RTI for file movement, and use the state service guarantee appeal. A demand for a bribe can be reported to the state anti-corruption bureau.
+==== Can I start construction while the order is pending? ====
+No. Building on agricultural land before conversion invites penalty and regularisation costs under the revenue code, and can complicate the pending application itself.
+===== Related guides =====
+  * [[practical-guides:agricultural-land-inheritance-mutation-delayed|Agricultural land inheritance mutation delayed]]
+  * [[practical-guides:agricultural-land-shown-government-land|Agricultural land shown as government land]]
+  * [[state-rti-portals-directory|State RTI portal directory]]
+  * [[practical-guides:start|All practical guides]]
+Download the NA conversion follow-up checklist (PDF).
+{{tag>rti land service agricultural conversion order delayed}}