(1) No person shall use or permit the use of any land situated in any municipal area, for the purpose other than that for which such land was originally allotted or sold to any person by the State Government, any Municipality, any other local authority or any other body or authority in accordance with any law for the time being in force or, otherwise than as specified under a Master Plan, wherever it is in operation.
(2) In the case of any land not allotted or sold as aforesaid and not covered under sub- Section (1), no person shall use or permit the use of any such land situated in a municipal area for the purpose other than that for which such land was being used on or before the commencement of this Act.
(3) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-Section (1) or sub-Section (2), the State Government or any authority authorized by it by notification in the Official Gazette, may allow the owner or holder of any such land to have change of use thereof, if it is satisfied so to do in public interest, on payment of conversion charges at such rates and after inviting and hearing objections from the neighbourhood in such manner as may be prescribed with respect to the following changes in use, namely: -
(i) from residential to commercial or any other purpose; or
(ii) from commercial to any other purpose; or
(iii) from industrial to commercial or any other purpose; or
(iv) from cinema to, commercial or any other purpose; or
(v) from hotel to commercial or any other purpose; or
(vi) from tourism to commercial or any other purpose; or
(vii) from institutional to commercial or any other purpose [; or] [(viii) from any existing permissible use of land to any other purposes, as the State Government may prescribe:]
Provided that rates of conversion charges may be different for different areas and for different purposes.
(4) Where the State Government or any authority authorized by it under sub-Section (3), is satisfied that a person who ought to have applied for permission or regularization under this Section, has not applied and that such permission can be granted or the use of land can be regularized, it may proceed to determine the conversion charges after due notice and hearing the party or parties and the charges as may be prescribed, shall become due to the Municipality and be recoverable under sub-Section (6). The Municipality may hold camps for expediting this work and take the assistance of any agency as well:
Provided that regularization of land use change shall not be permitted in cases where the original land use was for a public purpose such as education, medical or any charitable purpose and the allotment was made at any concessional rate unless the difference in the original rate of allotment and the prevailing is paid and specific consent of the authority which made the original allotment has been obtained.
(5) The conversion charges so realized shall be credited to the fund of the Municipality.
(6) Charges under this Section shall be the first charge on the interest of the person liable to pay such charges with respect to the land, the use of which has been changed, and shall be recoverable as arrears of land revenue.