How to convert agricultural land to residential use in Telangana

If a piece of land is still recorded as agricultural, you cannot legally build a house on it, and no lender will fund construction there. In Telangana the change of use is called NALA conversion, and it is handled by the revenue department. If you are buying a plot, this is one of the first things to check, whoever is selling it.

The law and where you apply

Conversion is governed by the Telangana Agricultural Land (Conversion for Non-Agricultural Purposes) Act, 2006. The competent authority is the Tahsildar or the Revenue Divisional Officer for the area.

Applications used to go through the Dharani portal. Since 2025 Dharani has been replaced by the state's Bhu Bharati portal, which now carries conversion to non-agricultural use along with registrations and mutations. If someone hands you a guide that says Dharani, it is out of date.

The steps

1. Apply on Bhu Bharati or through the Tahsildar's office, giving the survey number and the extent you want converted.
2. Pay the conversion tax. The Act sets it as a percentage of the land's basic value in the registration department's records, and the rate inside GHMC limits differs from the rate elsewhere. Older guides quote 3%. Confirm the rate that applies to your land with the Tahsildar's office or on the portal before you pay.
3. Submit documents. Typically the registered title deed, the pattadar passbook, a recent encumbrance certificate, tax receipts and proof of identity and address.
4. Verification. Revenue officials check ownership, confirm there is no dispute on the land and make sure it is not in a restricted or protected zone.
5. Conversion order. Once approved, the land is recorded as non-agricultural. You need this before any building or layout permission.

If you skip it

Under the Act, agricultural land used for another purpose without permission is treated as converted anyway, and the owner is charged the conversion tax plus a fine of 50% on top of it. Unauthorised construction can also face action from the local planning authority, and the land stays hard to sell and impossible to finance until it is regularised.

What conversion does not do

Conversion changes the land's classification in revenue records. It does not replace permissions from HMDA, DTCP, GHMC or the local municipality. Layout approval and building permission come afterwards and are separate applications.

It also does not override the master plan. If the plan reserves your land for a park, a public utility or industrial use, a conversion order will not let you build a house there. Check the zoning before you pay anything.

Two more checks are worth the time. Verify the title on Bhu Bharati and get a written opinion from a property lawyer, because conversion does not cure a defective title. And ask the Tahsildar's office or the local body what tax the land will attract once it is non-agricultural, since it will no longer be treated as farm land.

If you are buying a plot

Most buyers never file a conversion application themselves. The developer does it before applying for layout approval. Your job is to ask for the conversion order and the approved layout, and to match the survey numbers on both against the sale deed. A plot sold as "conversion in process" is agricultural land until the order is issued. We would not pay more than a token advance on one.

relai advises on residential projects in Hyderabad and Bangalore and does not provide legal services, but if you are weighing a plotted project and want a second opinion, talk to a relai advisor.