Three kinds of offices, three jobs
Buyers on Bengaluru's growing edges hear many names: the city corporation, BDA, BMRDA, local planning authorities, gram panchayats, the revenue department. It gets easier once you see there are three jobs:
- Planning: deciding what land may be used for and approving layouts and building plans.
- Civic administration: water, roads, waste and property tax, done by a city corporation or a gram panchayat.
- Land revenue: keeping records of who holds land, done by the revenue department through records such as the RTC.
One piece of land touches all three. The question is which office does which job for that land.
Who sanctions a building plan
Inside the city corporation's limits, building plans are sanctioned under the city's own laws and byelaws. Around the city, the Bangalore Development Authority and the local planning authorities coordinated by the Bangalore Metropolitan Region Development Authority (BMRDA) handle planning for their areas under planning law. Further out, in a village with no planning authority, a gram panchayat may have a role under the Karnataka Gram Swaraj and Panchayat Raj Act, 1993.
The rule to remember: the sanction should come from the body that has planning power over that land, and the plan sanction should name the survey numbers of the land.
Layout approval
When land is divided into plots or blocks, a layout plan is approved first. It fixes roads, parks and civic sites. A building plan then sits on top of it. A flat in a building needs both to be in order.
Khata: useful, but not an approval
A khata is the local body's property tax record. In panchayat areas, property records are kept through the state's e-Swathu system. A khata helps with tax and utilities. It does not prove the building was sanctioned, and it is not a title deed.
Certificates follow the sanction
The occupancy certificate and completion certificate should normally come from the same body that sanctioned the plan. If the plan came from one office and the certificate from another, ask why.
The mismatch that should stop you
If the approval names one authority, but the land's location falls under another, pause. Ask the builder to explain in writing, and have a property lawyer read the papers before you pay anything beyond a small, refundable token.
What to ask for
- The name of the body that sanctioned the building plan, with the sanction number and date.
- The approved layout, if the land was divided.
- The RTC or conversion order showing the land is converted for non-agricultural use.
- Confirmation of which body will issue the occupancy certificate.
A worked example: following one flat's paper trail
Here is an illustrative case, not a real project. You like a 2 BHK in a six-storey building on the city's edge. The brochure says “fully approved”. Here is how you turn that phrase into papers you can check.
- Start with the land. The RTC for the survey number should show the land as converted for non-agricultural use, or there should be a conversion order. Conversion of agricultural land is dealt with under section 95 of the Karnataka Land Revenue Act, 1964.
- Then the planning body. Find out which planning authority covers that village. The building plan sanction should come from that body, carry a number and a date, and list the same survey numbers as the RTC.
- Then the layout. If the land was divided, the approved layout should show your block on it, with the roads and civic areas marked.
- Then the regulator. Search the project on the Karnataka RERA website. The approvals filed there should match the ones the builder showed you.
- Then the local body. Ask which body will collect property tax and keep the khata after handover.
If every step points to the same land and the same authority, the phrase “fully approved” now means something. If any step points elsewhere, you have found the question to ask.
Why the money side matters too
Approvals are not just paperwork. They decide whether a bank will lend on the flat. Say the home costs ₹70 lakh (an illustrative figure). Under RBI's rules for loans of ₹30 lakh to ₹75 lakh, a bank can lend up to 80%, so up to ₹56 lakh. If the bank's lawyer is not satisfied with the approvals, the bank can refuse the loan altogether. You would then need the full ₹70 lakh from your own savings, or walk away from a booking you have already paid for. Many banks keep a list of projects they have already checked, so asking which banks have approved the project is a quick early test.
Common mistakes first-home buyers make
- Treating a khata as an approval. It is a tax record. It says nothing about whether the building plan was sanctioned.
- Trusting a photocopy without a number. A sanction you cannot trace by number and date is hard to verify.
- Checking the building but not the land. A sanctioned plan on unconverted land is a problem waiting to surface.
- Accepting “approval is in process” as an answer. In process means not yet approved. Wait, or keep your payment small and refundable.
- Not asking about the occupancy certificate early. Ask at booking which body will issue it. It saves you a surprise at handover.
Step by step: a one-week check before you book
- Day 1. Ask the builder, in writing, for the RERA number, the plan sanction, the layout approval and the conversion order.
- Day 2. Look up the RERA page yourself and save a copy of the documents filed there.
- Day 3. Match the survey numbers across the RTC, the conversion order, the sanction and the RERA page. Write them in one table.
- Day 4. Ask two banks whether they lend on the project.
- Days 5 to 7. Hand the whole set to a property lawyer and ask for a written opinion before you pay more than a small token.
A week feels slow when you are excited. It is short next to a twenty-year loan.
If you are new to the Sarjapur–Attibele side of the city, our Sarjapur–Attibele Road area guide explains the corridor in plain terms.