Plot Boundary and Encroachment Checks Before Buying Land in Bangalore
A compound wall shows where somebody chose to build, which is a different thing from the legal edge of a plot. In Karnataka the boundary is fixed by the survey records, and a buyer who relies on the fence alone can end up with less land than the deed describes. This guide explains which records define a plot in and around Bangalore, how a boundary survey works, and what to do when the ground and the paper disagree.
Why the Fence Is Not the Boundary
Plots on the edge of the city are often carved out of larger farm holdings. Stones are placed by hand, walls go up years later, and a neighbour may build a little beyond his own line. Each small shift is invisible on a site visit, yet a difference of two or three feet along one side changes the area a buyer pays for.
When the wall and the record differ, the record prevails. The gap usually surfaces when the new owner applies for a building plan, asks a bank for a construction loan or tries to resell. Finding it before the sale leaves the seller to solve it, and finding it afterwards leaves the buyer with the dispute.
Records That Define a Plot
The documents differ with the kind of land. For revenue land identified by a survey number, these records carry the boundary:
- The RTC, which gives the survey number, the extent and the kharab land within it
- The village map, which shows the survey number among its neighbours, with roads, tanks and drains
- The tippani and the survey sketch, which give the measured shape and the length of each side
- The akarband, the register that records the total extent of the survey number
- The 11E sketch, prepared when only a part of a survey number is being sold
For a site in an approved layout, the plot number and dimensions come from a different set of papers:
- The approved layout plan of the planning authority, with each site numbered and dimensioned
- The khata or e-Khata, which states the site dimensions and area
- The schedule in the sale deed, which names what adjoins the site on the east, west, north and south
All of these should agree with one another before the ground is measured. A deed that says 30 by 40 feet, a khata that says 1,150 sq ft and a layout plan that shows a splayed corner are three different plots on paper.
The Four Boundaries in the Deed
Every sale deed describes the property by its four boundaries, often called the chakkubandi. A typical schedule reads "East: Site No. 14, West: 30-foot road, North: Site No. 22, South: Site No. 20". The same description should run unchanged through every earlier deed in the chain.
A change between two deeds deserves a question. A road that becomes private property, a site number that shifts, or a measurement that grows from one sale to the next can each point to an overlap with a neighbour. The lawyer who reads the title should be asked to compare the schedules line by line.
How a Boundary Survey Works
Karnataka's Survey, Settlement and Land Records department handles boundary work through its Mojini system. The application for fixing boundaries is known as hadbast, or hadbastu. A government surveyor or a licensed surveyor is assigned, and notices go to the owners of the adjoining lands before the visit.
On the day, the surveyor measures from fixed survey points and marks each corner on the ground. The result is a signed sketch that shows the plot as measured, alongside the recorded extent. Any encroachment, by the plot or into it, is marked on the same sketch.
The application is made by the owner on record, so a buyer asks the seller to obtain the survey as a condition of the sale agreement. The application and its progress are tracked online by the application number. Timelines vary by taluk, and it is sensible to start the survey as soon as the token advance is paid.
Private surveys
A private licensed surveyor can measure a site in a day with a total station and compare it with the layout plan. This is the usual route for a site in an approved layout inside the city, where the boundaries come from the layout plan. A private report is quick and useful for negotiation, while the departmental sketch carries more weight in a dispute.
Why neighbours should be present
A corner marked in front of the adjoining owners is rarely challenged later. Their presence turns the measurement into a shared record, and many surveyors ask them to sign the sketch. A boundary fixed in their absence is open to objection the moment a wall goes up.
What a Mismatch Means
A survey ends in one of four results, and each leads to a different step:
| Survey result | What it means | Usual step |
|---|---|---|
| Ground matches the record | The wall is on the legal line | Proceed with the sale |
| Plot is smaller than the record | A neighbour or a road has taken part of it | Seller recovers the land, or the price is reduced for the area delivered |
| Plot is larger than the record | The wall encloses land the seller does not own | Buy only the recorded extent and move the wall |
| Plot overlaps government land | Part of it is a road, a drain, a tank bed or other public land | Walk away unless the overlap is removed from the sale |
The last result is the most serious. Land recorded as a storm water drain, a tank bed or gomala cannot be sold by a private party, and a structure on it can be removed. A small overlap with a neighbour, by contrast, is often settled by agreement and a corrected wall.
Signs That a Survey Is Essential
A survey is worth its fee on any land purchase, and a few situations make it essential:
- A corner plot, or a plot with an irregular shape
- A site next to a drain, a lake, a burial ground or open government land
- A part-sale from a larger survey number
- A layout formed on revenue land, with no approved plan from a planning authority
- Boundary stones that are missing, new or recently moved
- A seller who discourages measurement or wants a quick registration
The Dishaank app is a helpful first look, since it shows the survey number at the buyer's location on a satellite image. Its maps are for information only, so it points to questions and does not settle them.
Steps Before Paying
The order below keeps the cost low and puts the paid step last:
- Copy the survey or site number, the extent and the four boundaries from the seller's deed.
- Check that the RTC or khata, the layout plan and the deed agree on the area and dimensions.
- Compare the four boundaries across the earlier deeds in the chain.
- Walk the plot with a tape, and note each side and what adjoins it.
- Make the boundary survey a condition in the sale agreement, with the sketch due before registration.
- Attend the survey, with the adjoining owners present.
- Settle any shortfall or overlap in writing, then register the deed with the measured dimensions.
Plotted projects with a planning authority approval and a Karnataka RERA registration reduce much of this risk, since the layout plan fixes every site. Buyers comparing plots in Devanahalli or elsewhere in Bangalore are welcome to ask us for the approved layout plan of any project we present.
