What an approved layout means
A layout is a piece of converted land divided into plots, with roads, drains, parks and civic amenity sites. An approved layout is one whose plan was sanctioned by the planning authority for that area before the plots were sold, and whose sites were then released for sale.
An approved layout gives you three things an unapproved one does not: an A-category khata for your site, a building plan you can get sanctioned, and a plot banks will lend on. A plot in an unapproved layout may still be sold and registered, but it usually carries a B-khata and the limits that come with it. See A-khata, B-khata and e-khata.
Approval comes after conversion. The land must first be converted for non-agricultural use. See DC conversion in Karnataka.
Who approves layouts, by area
The approving body depends on which planning area the land falls in. The arrangement around Bengaluru changed in 2025, so check against the current map for your survey number.
| Where the land is | Who approves the layout |
|---|---|
| Core Bengaluru, within the Greater Bengaluru Authority's planning area | The Greater Bengaluru Authority, which took over planning powers here from the BDA in 2025 |
| The ring around core Bengaluru still under the BDA | Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) |
| Towns and areas in the Bengaluru metropolitan region beyond these | The local planning authority for that area, under the Bengaluru Metropolitan Region Development Authority (BMRDA) |
| Mysuru | Mysuru Development Authority (MDA), which replaced MUDA in May 2025 |
| Hassan | Hassan Urban Development Authority (HUDA) |
| Other cities with a development authority, such as Chikkamagaluru or Mangaluru | That city's urban development authority |
| Smaller towns and areas with a local planning authority | The local planning authority, with the Town and Country Planning department |
| Villages outside any local planning area | The gram panchayat, after the layout design is approved by the Town and Country Planning department or another notified authority |
When people search for BDA, BMRDA or MUDA approval, they are asking the same question: did the right authority for that land sanction the plan? The name on the approval should match the authority for the area the survey number is in.
Rural layouts outside planning areas
Until recently, many rural layouts were formed with little planning control. In 2025 the state set rules for these areas:
- Town and Country Planning regulations. Regulations for development of land in areas other than local planning areas were notified in 2025. They cover both urban and rural land outside a planning authority's jurisdiction and set requirements such as space for parks in larger layouts.
- Panchayat rules. In October 2025 the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj department issued guidelines under the amended Panchayat Raj Act for layouts on converted land outside planning areas. The gram panchayat receives the application, but it must first get the layout design approved by the Town and Country Planning department or another notified agency. Only after that can it give khatas or property numbers to the plots.
- Handover of public land. Roads, parks, civic amenity sites and utilities must be handed over to the panchayat free of cost by a registered relinquishment deed.
- Works first. The developer must build the roads, drains, street lights and water connections to the approved plan, certified by the engineering departments.
For a buyer, the practical rule is simple: a rural plot sold after these rules should come with a layout design approval, not just a panchayat resolution or a panchayat tax receipt.
How a layout gets approved
The usual sequence, whichever authority approves:
- The land is converted for residential use.
- The developer submits a layout plan that follows the zoning and the rules on road widths, park and civic amenity areas and plot sizes.
- The authority checks title, conversion, zoning and access, and sanctions the plan.
- The roads, parks and civic amenity sites are handed over to the authority or local body by a registered relinquishment deed.
- The developer builds the roads, drains, water, power and street lights.
- Sites are released for sale in stages as the works are completed and certified. Until release, some sites stay with the authority as security for the works.
- Each released site gets its own khata in the local body's register.
Ask which sites have been released. A site that is on the approved plan but not yet released should not be sold to you, and a buyer of an unreleased site can wait a long time for a khata.
How to check a plot is in an approved layout
Ask the seller or developer for these and check each one.
- The approval letter and plan. The approval number, date and authority. The plan should show your site number with the same size and shape as your sale deed.
- The release letter. It should list your site number as released for sale.
- The relinquishment deed. A registered deed handing the roads and parks to the authority. Check that your site is not on land shown as a road, park or civic amenity site.
- The conversion order. Covering the whole layout area.
- The khata. An A-category e-khata for the site, or for a new layout, the application for one.
- RERA registration. Plotted layouts above the size threshold in the RERA Act must be registered with K-RERA before sites are sold. Check the project on the K-RERA website. See RERA for plotted layouts in Karnataka.
Then confirm the approval with the authority's office directly. A photocopy of an approval is easy to fake; the authority's own record is not.
Red flags in a layout
- The seller calls it approved but can only show a conversion order.
- The approval is from a body that does not cover that area.
- Your site number is not on the approved plan, or its size is different.
- Plots are being sold on land shown on the plan as a park or civic amenity site.
- The roads on the ground are narrower than on the plan.
- Only a panchayat tax receipt or a B-khata is offered for a new layout.
- The layout is above the RERA threshold but has no RERA registration.
An example from our own work
Our Kempegowda Layout in Ganganamakki, Mudigere town, in Chikkamagaluru district, is 17 residential sites on 1 acre 7 guntas. The land is DC-converted and the layout plan was approved by the rural planning authority. It has two 9 m cement roads, with every site facing one, plus drains, street lights, electricity, drinking water, its own sewage treatment tank, a park and a green buffer along a stream. Buyers get copies of every document to check with their own lawyer before they pay. See the project page.
For plots in specific places, see buying a plot in Hassan, buying a plot in Mysuru and buying a plot near Bengaluru.
How we help
For buyers, we check the approval, the plan, the release and the khata for a plot before you pay. For landowners, we take land through conversion and layout approval, or find a developer to do it under a joint development. See our development consultation and documentation services, or tell us about the land.
