RTC (Pahani) and Mutation Records in Karnataka: What a Plot Buyer Should Read
The RTC, also called the Pahani, is the Karnataka revenue record for a piece of land, and the mutation register is the history of changes made to it. This guide explains what each one contains, how to read the entries that matter, how to pull them from the Bhoomi portal and where their value stops. It is written for buyers of plots, sites, farmland and independent houses in and around Bangalore.
What the RTC is
RTC is short for Record of Rights, Tenancy and Crops. The Revenue Department prepares it in Form 16 for every survey number and keeps it on Bhoomi, the state's computerised land register. One RTC covers one survey number or one sub-division of it, known as a hissa.
The document answers three basic questions about a parcel: who holds it, how large it is and how the land is classed. Those answers come from the government's own register, which makes the RTC the natural starting point for any land purchase outside the old city. A seller's photocopy is only a pointer, and the copy to rely on is the one pulled from Bhoomi on the day of the check.
What an RTC contains
An RTC packs a lot into one page. The entries a buyer should find and read are listed below.
- Survey number and hissa number, with the village, hobli and taluk
- Total extent in acres and guntas, and any kharab portion that is unfit for cultivation or reserved for public use
- Land type and the land revenue assessed on it
- Column 9: the name of each owner, with the father's or husband's name and the extent each one holds
- The khata number and the mutation number (MR number) behind the current entry
- Column 11: rights and liabilities, such as bank loans, court orders, acquisition notices and conditions on government-granted land
- Column 12: the cultivator and the crops grown, season by season
Extent is the entry that most often causes trouble. Forty guntas make an acre, and one gunta is 1,089 sq ft, so a 30 x 40 ft site is a little over one gunta. A small plot is usually carved out of a much larger survey number, and the RTC of the parent land has to account for it.
What the mutation register adds
A mutation is the change made to the RTC when rights in the land change. Sales, inheritance, partitions among family members, gifts, mortgages and court decrees each lead to a mutation entry with its own MR number. Read in order, the entries tell how the land changed hands over the years.
For a registered sale, the sub-registrar's office sends the details of the deed to Bhoomi, which starts the mutation without a separate application. The revenue office then issues a notice, allows time for objections and passes an order before the new name enters the RTC. A recent sale may therefore still be in progress, and the Bhoomi mutation status page tells where it has reached.
Gaps are the thing to look for. An owner who appears on the RTC with no mutation entry to explain it is one warning sign. An inheritance mutation that leaves out an heir, or a mutation under dispute, is another, and each needs an answer before any money is paid. The lawyer's job is to match every mutation entry with a registered deed or an order.
How to get the RTC and mutation details online
The Bhoomi portal of the Revenue Department offers the records by survey number. The steps are simple.
- Open the Bhoomi land records portal and choose "View RTC and MR"
- Select the district, taluk, hobli and village
- Enter the survey number, then pick the surnoc and hissa number from the lists
- Read the current RTC, and use the same page to view RTCs of earlier years
- Open the mutation register extract and the mutation status for the same survey number
- For a copy to give a bank or a lawyer, download the digitally signed i-RTC, which carries a small fee
The on-screen view is free and is enough for a first check. Ask the seller for the survey number in writing, because a wrong hissa number brings up a neighbour's land.
What a plot buyer should match
The RTC is most useful when it is compared with the other papers of the deal. A mismatch is a question for the seller, and the points to compare are set out in the table.
| Entry on the RTC | Compare with | What a mismatch may mean |
|---|---|---|
| Owner in column 9 | Seller named in the sale agreement and the last sale deed | The seller's title is incomplete, or other co-owners must sign |
| Survey and hissa number | Schedule of the sale deed and the survey sketch | The deed describes different land, or the sub-division is pending |
| Extent in acres and guntas | Area being sold and the area found on site | More land is being sold than the owner holds |
| Column 11 entries | Encumbrance certificate and loan closure letters | A mortgage, court order or acquisition is still open |
| Cultivator in column 12 | Who is in possession on the ground | A tenancy or an informal arrangement with another person |
Land use needs its own check. An RTC that still describes the land as agricultural means the conversion order for residential use has to be produced, and its survey number and extent must match. Entries about government grants in column 11 call for extra care, since granted land carries limits on sale.
Where the RTC stops
The RTC is a revenue record, and a revenue entry does not create ownership. Title comes from the registered deeds, and a clean RTC helps only when the chain of deeds behind it is sound. A parcel with a correct RTC may still have a defect in an old deed, a pending court case or an unregistered claim.
The RTC also matters less as land becomes urban. Once land is converted, laid out with approval and given a khata by the city corporation or the panchayat, the khata and the property tax record take over for daily purposes. A flat buyer within corporation limits works mainly from the khata, the deeds, the encumbrance certificate and the plan approvals, and the RTC is part of the land's past.
A short checklist
These steps cover the RTC part of a plot purchase.
- Pull the current RTC from Bhoomi for the exact survey and hissa number
- Compare owner, extent and land type with the sale papers
- Read column 11 for loans, court orders, acquisition and grant conditions
- Read the mutation entries back for at least 30 years and tie each one to a deed or an order
- Ask for the conversion order if the land is to be used for a house
- Give the RTC, the mutation extracts, the deeds and the encumbrance certificate to a lawyer for a written opinion
An hour spent on these records before paying an advance is far cheaper than a dispute after registration. We are glad to help buyers line up the papers for a plot they are considering.
