Tripura’s proposed Land Amendment Bill 2026 recognises proportionate land rights for flat owners and allows regulated use of tea garden land for tourism, plantations, industrial parks and social infrastructure while protecting workers, employment and the environment.
The Tripura government has proposed a series of amendments to the Tripura Land Revenue and Land Reforms Act, 1960, aimed at recognising the land rights of individual flat owners and enabling regulated utilisation of portions of tea garden land for tourism, commercial plantations and key infrastructure projects.
The proposed changes are contained in the Tripura Land Revenue and Land Reforms (Fourteenth Amendment) Bill, 2026, which has been tabled during the ongoing session of the Tripura Legislative Assembly.
One of the significant provisions of the Bill relates to land ownership in apartment buildings. The proposed amendment to Section 46 seeks to introduce a new provision allowing a separate Record of Rights (Khatian) to be maintained for an individual landowner in an apartment building.
Under the proposed provision, the land appurtenant to an apartment building would be recorded jointly and proportionately in the names of all individual flat owners during the mutation process. The move is expected to provide a clearer legal framework for recognising the proportionate land rights associated with individual flats.
The Bill also proposes changes to the explanation under Section 168 concerning the definition of “transfer” and “partition”. Under the proposed amendment, transfer would cover transactions such as sale, gift, mortgage with possession, exchange, lease and other forms of disposition made between living persons.
The definition would also cover transfers made in favour of the government, private firms, entities, companies and cooperative societies. “Partition”, meanwhile, would refer to the division of land through an act of parties made between living persons.
Another major component of the proposed legislation focuses on tea garden land. The government has proposed amendments to Section 178 to permit vacant tea garden land to be utilised for other commercial plantations, subject to prior permission from the state government.
The Bill also seeks to create a framework for developing tea tourism on certain tea garden land for which exemption has been granted. Under the proposal, up to five per cent of the total tea garden area could be used for exploring tea tourism potential, subject to an upper limit of 20 acres over and above the ceiling prescribed under Section 164 of the Act.
Construction activities within the permitted tea tourism area would also be regulated. Civil construction would be restricted to a maximum of 3.5 acres, while the remaining portion would have to remain open for landscaping and beautification.
Tea garden owners would be allowed to transfer such land, but only with prior approval from the state government, for the development and operation of tea tourism resorts and related projects.
The proposed amendment also provides for the use of a larger portion of eligible tea garden land for integrated development projects. Up to 10 per cent of such land, subject to an upper limit of 50 acres over and above the ceiling under Section 164, could be permitted for integrated industrial parks, integrated townships and urgent social infrastructure projects.
The proposed social infrastructure category includes important sectors such as healthcare and education, potentially creating opportunities for investment in facilities considered necessary for public development.
However, the proposed changes also place emphasis on protecting the interests of existing tea garden workers. According to the Statement of Objects and Reasons accompanying the Bill, any such transfers and investments would remain subject to safeguards concerning the rights and welfare of tea garden workers, employment promotion and environmental protection.
The government has stated that the proposed amendments are intended to facilitate the regulated utilisation of limited portions of tea garden land without affecting the core plantation areas.
The legislation is also designed to support investment, generate employment and promote tourism, agricultural diversification and infrastructure development. By introducing specific limits and requiring government approval for several forms of land use and transfer, the government seeks to balance economic development with land-use regulation.
The proposed recognition of proportionate land rights for flat owners could also bring greater clarity to apartment ownership and mutation records in Tripura. At the same time, the provisions concerning tea garden land indicate an effort to diversify the economic use of selected areas while retaining safeguards for plantations, workers and the environment.
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The Tripura Land Revenue and Land Reforms (Fourteenth Amendment) Bill, 2026 will now be considered as part of the legislative process, with its provisions potentially shaping the future framework for apartment land records, tea tourism, plantations, industrial development and social infrastructure in the state.
