Dishaank App: How to Check a Plot's Survey Number and Boundary in Bangalore
Dishaank is a free land map app from the Karnataka government that shows the survey number of any spot in the state. For a plot buyer in Bangalore, it is a quick first test of whether the land being shown matches the land in the records. This guide explains what the app shows, where its limits are, and how it fits with the RTC, the survey sketch and a physical survey.
What Dishaank is
Dishaank was developed by the Karnataka State Remote Sensing Applications Centre (KSRSAC) with the state's survey and land records department. It places the digitised village survey maps over a satellite map on a phone. A survey number then becomes a shape on the ground instead of a code on a deed.
The app is available for Android and iPhone, and it is free to use. It works across Karnataka, so it covers the villages around Bangalore where most plotted layouts are sold.
What the app shows
The app has a small set of tools, and each one answers a question a plot buyer should ask. The main features are listed below.
- The survey number and hissa number of the spot where the phone is, using GPS
- Search by district, taluk, hobli, village and survey number
- Land details linked to the survey number, such as the owner's name, the extent and the type of land
- Tools to measure distances and areas on the map
- A legend that marks features such as roads, water bodies and government land
Used together, these features show where a survey number is, how large it is on the map and what the land records say about it. That is enough to test a seller's claim on the spot.
How to use Dishaank at a plot
The best place to open the app is at the plot itself, with the seller's papers in hand. The steps below take about fifteen minutes.
- Write down the village, the survey number and the extent that the seller has quoted
- Stand inside the plot, open the app and read the survey number shown for that spot
- Walk to each corner and check that the survey number stays the same
- Search the quoted survey number and compare its shape with the land shown by the seller
- Look for a road, drain, lake or government land marked inside or beside the boundary
- Measure the rough extent on the map and compare it with the figure in the papers
Save screenshots of each step. They are useful when the lawyer and the surveyor look at the same land later.
Warning signs the map can reveal
A few mismatches are common around Bangalore, and each one is a reason to stop and ask questions before paying an advance.
- The plot falls in a different survey number from the one in the seller's papers
- Part of the claimed land is marked as government land, a road or a water body
- The boundary on the map is a different shape from the layout plan
- The extent on the map is clearly smaller than the extent quoted
- The owner's name in the linked record differs from the seller's name
A mismatch can have an innocent reason, such as a recent subdivision that the map has yet to pick up. It still needs a clear answer on paper before the deal moves ahead.
Limits of the app
Dishaank is an information tool, and its own terms say the data has no legal standing for ownership or boundaries. The village maps behind it were drawn decades ago and digitised later. Many recent subdivisions are still being added, so a hissa created by a newer partition may be missing.
The GPS in a phone is accurate only to a few metres. That is enough to tell one survey number from another in open land. It is too coarse to settle where a corner stone belongs or to prove an encroachment of a few feet.
Documents and surveys that confirm the boundary
The app points to where the questions are, and the records and a survey answer them. The table below shows what each one confirms.
| Record or step | What it confirms |
|---|---|
| Dishaank map | Location and rough shape of the survey number |
| RTC (Pahani) from Bhoomi | Owner, extent, type of land and liabilities for the survey number |
| Mutation register extract | How the land passed from one owner to the next |
| Mojini survey sketch (11E, podi or hadbust) | Measured boundary of the land or of the portion sold |
| Encumbrance Certificate | Registered sales, mortgages and other charges |
| Physical survey by a licensed surveyor | Exact corners and extent on the ground |
For a plot in an approved layout, add the conversion order, the approved layout plan and the khata to this list. Sites under a gram panchayat should also have an e-Swathu record. In an approved layout, the plot number and dimensions in the layout plan matter as much as the parent survey number.
Order of checks before paying an advance
A sensible order keeps the cost low. Start with the free checks, which are Dishaank and the RTC, and drop the plot if they raise a problem the seller cannot explain. Move on to the Encumbrance Certificate, the mutation history and the layout approvals next.
Commission the physical survey and the lawyer's title opinion last, before any large payment. A survey costs a small sum next to the price of a plot, and it protects against a boundary dispute after registration. Buyers comparing plotted projects around Devanahalli or other parts of Bangalore are welcome to ask us for the survey numbers and approval papers of any project.
