Land Conversion Orders in Karnataka: A Plot Buyer's Checklist for Bangalore
Why do so many plots on the outskirts of Bangalore arrive with "converted land" in the sales pitch? Because they were paddy fields, ragi patches or orchards until an order changed their category in the government's books. What that order promises, and what it leaves out, decides whether a plot can be financed, built on and sold later.
Where does conversion come from?
Revenue records in Karnataka label land by use, and agricultural is the starting label. Any change needs the consent of the district's Deputy Commissioner, a requirement written into the 1964 Land Revenue Act at Section 95. That explains the trade's shorthand, "DC conversion".
The consent is a signed order, also called a conversion certificate. Village, parcel number, area and new purpose are all recorded in it, and the owner pays a fee to the state before release. Conditions are attached, such as a deadline for obtaining building approvals.
Two matters stay outside its reach. Who owns the land is proved by registered deeds, and who may divide it into sites is decided by a planning body. The order is thus a first approval in a chain, never proof of a saleable plot.
How did the rules change in September 2025?
A notification of 17 September 2025 amended the rules, and master plan land is now handled apart from everything else. Online filing was in use already. Notarised affidavits have replaced the older inspection reports.
| Land category | Handled by | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Inside an approved master plan and in line with its zoning | Planning body | The DC's prior order is dropped; the body takes the fee and regards the land as converted once it clears the plan |
| Outside master plans | Deputy Commissioner | Decision awaited; approval is presumed if 30 days pass without one |
| Small factories (two acres at most) and renewable energy schemes | Automatic route | An individual order is not needed |
An applicant files a sworn, notarised statement together with the RTC (record of rights), the mutation extract, a drawing of the parcel and the relevant master plan page. Faster handling helps only land that the master plan already zones for homes. Parcels shown there as agricultural zone, green belt, lake buffer or proposed road stay closed to housing, however a seller describes the future.
When approval is only "deemed"
A deemed approval is an effect of time, and no signed paper exists on day 31. The owner can ask for a certificate that records it. Lenders and later buyers want that paper, so a verbal claim from a seller counts for little.
What must follow before a plot is truly saleable?
The approvals fall into two halves. The first settles the land itself, through registered title deeds back to the present owner and then the conversion order, or the planning body's plan approval that counts as conversion. The second settles the plots: a sanctioned layout, a release order, a khata and RERA registration.
A layout sanction approves the road network, the parks, the sites kept for civic use and the numbered plots. Release comes once roads, drains and utility lines are physically laid. A khata then enters every plot in the local body's register, and RERA registration treats the layout as a project wherever the Act applies.
The office that sanctions a layout varies by belt. Plots near the airport, in Devanahalli, go to the area's planning authority, and other pockets fall to the Bangalore Development Authority or regional planning bodies. A brochure that stops at conversion has covered two of the six items.
Sites sold without a layout
Some owners slice a parcel and sell each slice by registered deed, with no layout sanction behind it. These are revenue sites. Conversion may or may not exist for them, and in either case roads and open spaces remain in private hands, so the plot can fail the khata test and miss a building licence.
Consequences of skipping conversion
Housing built or sold on land that is still agricultural in the books breaks the law, and Section 96 allows a penalty plus orders to halt the use. The first pain is usually commercial rather than legal. Building plans are refused, banks decline loans for both the plot and the house, the khata is withheld and utility connections drag.
Karnataka lifted its bar on non-farmers buying agricultural land in 2020. That widened the pool of buyers and left the rules on use as they were, so a house or a layout on such land still needs conversion.
Studying the order itself
The complete order, every page and annexure included, should be laid next to the sale deed and the layout plan. A set of questions keeps the reading orderly.
- Do the village name and parcel number agree with the deeds and the RTC, sub-division included, for example 45/2?
- Does the converted area, stated in acres and guntas, cover everything being sold?
- Is the sanctioned purpose residential?
- Does the applicant's name appear in the ownership history?
- Are there time-bound conditions to meet?
- Do the order number and date let the district office trace the file?
Owners often convert only part of a holding, such as two acres of five, and market sites across the whole. Setting the sketch from the conversion file against the layout drawing reveals whether the chosen plot falls in the cleared area.
Testing the seller's photocopy
The copy handed over by a seller is a lead, and records held by others should confirm it. Three checks cover the ground.
- Pull up the Bhoomi RTC and see whether it shows the land as non-agricultural for the same area
- Enter the request number from the order in the Revenue Department's web service for land conversion
- Have a lawyer request an attested copy from the office that issued the order, whether DC or planning body
Finally, the master plan's zone for the locality should permit housing, while the sanctioned layout must show the number of the plot being sold. A lawyer's written note that links these documents is cheap relative to the cost of land.
A last routine before the advance
Plots involve fewer documents than apartments, so every single one matters more. Gather the items below in any order, but have all of them before money changes hands.
- The bank's reaction to the plot, even when payment will be in cash
- The layout's entry in the Karnataka RERA database
- An encumbrance certificate going back 30 years or longer
- The plot-level khata, plus the latest property tax receipt
- The sanctioned layout and release order with the plot marked
- A full copy of the conversion order
- The current RTC and mutation extract
Banks reject plots with gaps in conversion or layout sanction, so their reply doubles as a second opinion. Approved layouts near the airport can be compared on the page of plots in Devanahalli, and the team will look at a particular layout through the contact page.
