diff --git a/configure.ac b/configure.ac
index 7e7d98ba0f..30f1ef706c 100644
--- a/configure.ac
+++ b/configure.ac
@@ -690,7 +690,6 @@ AM_CONDITIONAL(BUILD_PLUGIN_DOCS,   test "x$BUILD_PLUGIN_DOCS" = "xyes")
 AM_CONDITIONAL(HAVE_FIG2DEV_PNG,    $HAVE_FIG2DEV_PNG)
 AM_CONDITIONAL(HAVE_FIG2DEV_PDF,    $HAVE_FIG2DEV_PDF)
 AM_CONDITIONAL(HAVE_RAW1394,        test "x$HAVE_RAW1394" = "xyes")
-AM_CONDITIONAL(PLUGINS_USE_BUILDDIR,  test "x$PLUGINS_USE_BUILDDIR" = "xyes")
 
 GST_CFLAGS="$GST_CFLAGS -I\$(top_srcdir)/gst-libs -Wall"
 AC_SUBST(GST_LIBS)