India, Feb. 9 -- Karnataka has rolled out a major reform in land administration by introducing an auto land conversion system, a move that the state's revenue department says will ease approvals, cut delays, and strengthen property ownership.

"The Government has done away with the requirement for separate land conversion in areas covered under the published comprehensive development plan (CDP) within the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA). Landowners who are developers can now directly apply for plan approval as per the master plan, and land conversion will be carried out automatically as part of the plan approval process," the state's revenue department said in a statement on February 7.

Land conversion means changing the official statu...