Authorities Made Easy: Building Permission and Land Conversion in Mumbai (2026 Guide)

Before you rely on any of this: building regulations, fee schedules and portal addresses change often, sometimes several times a year. This guide was updated in October 2026 for Maharashtra's 2025 land revenue reform, which changed how agricultural land is converted. Everything below links to its source. Always confirm the current position on the official portal, or with an architect who has recently filed in your ward, before you spend money or sign anything. This is a plain-English guide, not legal advice.

Mumbai plays by its own rulebook, and most mistakes here begin with advice imported from elsewhere in Maharashtra. Most plots in Greater Mumbai are approved by the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) under DCPR 2034, through an online system your architect files on. Slum rehabilitation, MHADA layouts and a few MMRDA areas follow separate tracks, so the first question is never "what can I build" but "who decides".

Land conversion, the big topic for plot owners in Pune or Nashik, matters far less here. Greater Mumbai is almost entirely built up, and its development plan has no agricultural zone. Where a record does still show agricultural use, the 2025 reform means the building permission now does the conversion. Details are in step two.

First question: which authority governs your plot?

This decides the rulebook, the portal, the fees and the timeline.

Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM, also called BMC): the State's sanction notification for the development plan names MCGM as the Planning Authority for Greater Mumbai. Most private plots and society redevelopments go here, through the MCGM Online Building Plan Approval System.
Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA): set up by a State notification of 16 December 1995 to serve as the planning authority for slum areas in its jurisdiction, according to sra.gov.in. Slum redevelopment runs under Regulation 33(10) of DCPR 2034.
MHADA Building Permission Cell: MHADA's commencement certificates describe the cell as the designated planning authority for MHADA layouts in Greater Mumbai, constituted under a Government Resolution of 23 May 2018 (example certificate on mhada.gov.in). MHADA housing redevelopment uses Regulation 33(5).
MMRDA: lists Bandra-Kurla Complex, the Wadala notified area, Oshiwara District Centre and the Gorai-Manori-Uttan zone among its Special Planning Authority areas on mmrda.maharashtra.gov.in.

Table diagram showing who approves building plans in Mumbai: MCGM under DCPR 2034 for most plots, SRA for slum areas, the MHADA Building Permission Cell for MHADA layouts, MMRDA in its notified areas such as BKC, and other authorities outside Greater Mumbai, with a note that agricultural land now converts through the building permission with a one-time premium — Which authority and rulebook apply depends on where the plot sits, and the same authority now handles any land conversion. Diagram: MOA

If the seller cannot tell you which of these applies, treat that as a warning sign. Our plot due diligence checklist covers the other checks to run before you pay.

The rulebook that applies in Mumbai

Greater Mumbai runs on the Development Control and Promotion Regulations for Greater Mumbai, 2034 (DCPR 2034). The State sanctioned them with the Draft Development Plan 2034 by a notification of 8 May 2018, and they came into force on 1 September 2018, replacing the DCR of 1991. MCGM publishes the full text with its sanction notification at mcgm.gov.in, and the State publishes later modifications, such as the 14 March 2024 change to Regulation 33(10), on maharashtra.gov.in.

Two scope rules are worth knowing:

DCPR 2034 covers the entire MCGM jurisdiction, with one stated exception: it does not apply to the Manori-Gorai-Uttan notified area.
UDCPR does not apply in Greater Mumbai. The Unified Development Control and Promotion Regulations, which govern Pune, Thane, Nashik and most of Maharashtra, expressly exclude MCGM and the other planning and special planning authorities within its limits (UDCPR clause 1.1, on the Directorate of Town Planning site).

So FSI, setbacks and parking figures you read for Pune or Thane do not carry over. For a primer on those terms, see our explainer on setbacks, FAR and height limits.

Step one: read the land record before you pay anything

Most Mumbai plots are identified by a city survey (CS or CTS) number or a Town Planning Scheme final plot number, which is how DCPR 2034 itself tells you to look up a plot's zone. The ownership record for these is the property card, and MCGM's portal notes that a digitally signed property card can be pulled in during submission. A few areas still carry survey and hissa numbers and a 7/12 extract alongside the CTS number. Both are on mahabhumi.gov.in, the state land records portal.

Check three things before anything else:

The holder and the other-rights entries, which is where mortgages, charges, leases and disputes appear.
The tenure. Leasehold or Class II land carries restrictions and usually needs separate sanction and a premium before its use can change, and nothing in this guide changes that.
The DP zone. MCGM lets anyone obtain DP remarks online for the 1991 and 2034 plans, according to its AutoDCR FAQ. A plot shown as Natural Area or Green Zone is heavily restricted, whatever the seller says.

Step two: land conversion in Mumbai, after the 2025 reform

The land use zones in DCPR 2034's zoning table are residential, commercial, industrial, a No Special Development Zone, two port zones, Natural Areas and a Green Zone. None of them is an agricultural zone. Agriculture appears only as a permitted low-intensity use in some zones. We could not find an official figure for how much land in Greater Mumbai is still recorded as agricultural, so we will not invent one. In practice, most people building in Mumbai never deal with NA conversion.

If your record does still show agricultural use, the rules changed recently. The Maharashtra Land Revenue Code (Second Amendment) Act, 2025 replaced the old system of a Collector's NA permission or deemed-conversion sanad followed by an annual NA tax (bill text, PRS India). The reform was put into effect by a Government Resolution in February 2026 (Punekar News); Government Resolutions are published at gr.maharashtra.gov.in. In short:

No Collector's permission is needed to change agricultural land to non-agricultural use, if that use is permitted by the draft or final Development Plan, Regional Plan or development control regulations.
The planning authority's permission effects the change. In Mumbai that is MCGM for most plots, or SRA, MHADA or MMRDA in their areas. The revenue records are updated afterwards.
A one-time premium replaces the annual NA tax. The planning authority collects it before granting permission, at 0.1 per cent of the land's current market value under the Annual Statement of Rates (the ready reckoner, published by IGR Maharashtra) for areas up to 1,000 sq m, 0.25 per cent from 1,000 to 4,000 sq m, and 0.5 per cent above that. As an illustration only, a 500 sq m plot with a ready reckoner value of ₹10 crore would pay about ₹1 lakh.
Land already converted moves from the annual NA assessment to a one-time premium, calculated on the 2001 ready reckoner for land converted by 31 December 2001, or on the rates of the year of conversion after that.
Class II land is not upgraded by a building permission. Those restrictions, and any nazarana due, still apply.

What has not changed: the use must be permitted by the plan. If the zone does not permit housing, as with most land marked Natural Area, a building permission for a home will not be granted, and the reform does not help. We also could not find Mumbai-specific guidance on how the premium is applied to the few plots still recorded as agricultural, so confirm it with the Collector's office for Mumbai City or Mumbai Suburban before you budget. For how the same reform plays out where farmland is common, see our Pune guide covers it in more depth.

Step three: building permission on MCGM's AutoDCR

MCGM handles construction permits through a single window on its AutoDCR portal, which it describes as the official website for the construction permit system. One common application form goes in, and the NOCs it needs (fire, traffic, tree, electrical, revenue, Airports Authority and National Monuments Authority, where relevant) are routed through the same system. MCGM says this cut the process from 42 steps to 8.

The stages you will hear about:

IOD (Intimation of Disapproval): despite the name, this is the building plan approval with conditions attached. MCGM's FAQ puts it at about 30 working days after online submission, valid for one year and renewable up to three.
CC (Commencement Certificate): first issued for work up to plinth level, once the IOD conditions are met.
FCC (Further Commencement Certificate): for work above the plinth, after a site check and payment of the demand note.
OC cum BCC: the Occupation cum Building Completion Certificate at the end.

You cannot file this yourself. MCGM's FAQ says applications go through a registered architect or licensed surveyor registered with BMC, who must also upload construction progress and site photographs twice a month while work is on. The same FAQ says architects can grant approval for low and moderate risk buildings under a State notification, so ask yours whether your project qualifies. MCGM also has an online fee calculator.

Step four: the milestones people miss

Plinth checking happens once the plinth is complete. The authority checks that what has been built matches the approved plans, and only then is the CC extended above plinth. MCGM's FAQ says the plinth CC is issued within 3 working days of compliance being submitted online. Building higher without it turns small deviations into demolition.

The OC cum BCC is what makes the building legally fit to occupy. You apply through a Common Completion Request Form, without visiting each department, and MCGM says the completion certificate is granted within 7 working days if documents are complete and the work matches the approval. Without it, utility connections, resale and home loans all get harder, and buyers' lawyers ask for it first.

The sequence, in one place

Establish whether the plot is under MCGM, SRA, MHADA or MMRDA. This decides everything that follows.
Confirm you are working to DCPR 2034, not UDCPR.
Pull the property card (and 7/12 if there is one) and read the holder, other rights and tenure.
Get DP remarks and check the zone. If the record still shows agricultural use and the zone permits your use, no separate NA permission is needed.
Appoint a registered architect or licensed surveyor who files on AutoDCR.
Obtain the IOD, paying the one-time NA premium with it if it applies.
Obtain the plinth CC, build to plinth, then get the further CC before going higher.
Apply for the OC cum BCC on completion.

If you are buying into a promoted project rather than building yourself, verify its registration on MahaRERA before paying anything. For a realistic budget once approvals are in hand, see our Mumbai and Thane construction cost breakdown.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need NA permission to build in Mumbai?

Usually not, and rarely at all. Most Mumbai land is already urban and never needs conversion. Where a record still shows agricultural use, since the Maharashtra Land Revenue Code (Second Amendment) Act, 2025 there is no separate Collector's permission if the plan permits the use: the planning authority's permission effects the conversion, with a one-time premium.

Does UDCPR apply in Mumbai?

No. UDCPR expressly excludes MCGM and the other planning authorities within its limits. Greater Mumbai follows DCPR 2034.

My plot is in Thane or Navi Mumbai. Same rules?

No. Those lie outside Greater Mumbai, so DCPR 2034 and MCGM do not apply. UDCPR covers most of the region, but it names exceptions such as NAINA and MIDC areas, so confirm the rulebook with the local authority. Being in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region is not the same as being in Greater Mumbai.

What if it is a MHADA or SRA redevelopment?

Then MHADA's Building Permission Cell or the SRA is the planning authority, not MCGM, and the project runs under Regulation 33(5) or 33(10) of DCPR 2034. Establish this before any design work, because FSI and rehabilitation obligations change entirely.

Approvals go faster when the person handling them has filed in your ward before. Browse architects practising in Mumbai on MOA, see their published work and message them directly, with no commission on either side.

Sources

Maharashtra Land Revenue Code (Second Amendment) Bill, 2025, L.A. Bill No. XCVII of 2025, as published in the Maharashtra Government Gazette (PRS India copy) (accessed 16 Oct 2026)
Punekar News: Maharashtra ends separate NA permission for land conversion; annual NA tax abolished (12 Feb 2026) (accessed 16 Oct 2026)
MCGM: DCPR 2034 and sanction notification of 8 May 2018 (accessed 16 Oct 2026)
Government of Maharashtra, Urban Development Department: notification of 14 March 2024 modifying Regulation 33(10) of DCPR 2034 (accessed 16 Oct 2026)
Directorate of Town Planning, Maharashtra: Acts and rules, including UDCPR 2020 (accessed 16 Oct 2026)
MCGM: Online Building Plan Approval System, process charts and notices (accessed 16 Oct 2026)
MCGM: AutoDCR FAQs (accessed 16 Oct 2026)
Slum Rehabilitation Authority, Brihanmumbai: About SRA (accessed 16 Oct 2026)
MHADA Building Permission Cell, Greater Mumbai: commencement certificate, August 2026 (accessed 16 Oct 2026)
MMRDA: Planning, Special Planning Authority areas (accessed 16 Oct 2026)
Mahabhumi: Maharashtra land records (accessed 16 Oct 2026)
Other official portals linked above: IGR Maharashtra, MahaRERA, Government Resolutions, MCGM fee calculator, MHADA, and the Mumbai City and Mumbai Suburban district sites (accessed 16 Oct 2026)

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