The Agriva Journal

Land, decoded.
Written by insiders.

Buying guides, legal explainers, and market insights for farmland, agricultural plots, and commercial real estate across India.

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Buying guides

FeaturedBuying guides

Soil Around Bangalore: What the Red Earth Will and Will Not Grow

The red soils of the Bangalore plateau, where they are shallow, what they support, and how to test a parcel properly before you price it.

13 October 2026 · 4 min read

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Investment guides

What NA Conversion Actually Costs and How Long It Takes

The fee basis, the clearances that add months, why files get returned rather than rejected, and how to judge whether a conversion is worth starting.

11 October 2026 · 5 min

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Investment guides

Land Registration Charges in Karnataka: What You Actually Pay

How stamp duty and registration fees are computed on Karnataka land, why guidance value usually sets the base, and the charges buyers leave out of the budget.

10 October 2026 · 4 min

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Buying guides

Buying Agricultural Land Near Bangalore: A Practical Guide

Who can buy, which directions out of the city behave differently, what to verify in each, and the water and zoning checks that decide whether a parcel is worth anything.

9 October 2026 · 5 min

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Legal guides

Meebhoomi, 1B and Adangal: Reading Andhra Pradesh Land Records

What 1B and Adangal each prove, how Meebhoomi relates to Webland, and why the state resurvey means your survey number may have changed.

8 October 2026 · 4 min

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Legal guides

Bhu Bharati: What Replaced Dharani in Telangana, and What Buyers Must Check

Telangana moved its land records from Dharani to Bhu Bharati under a 2025 Act. What carried over, what changed, and the prohibited-property check that still matters most.

7 October 2026 · 4 min

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Legal guides

How to Check Land Records Online in Any Indian State

Every state runs its own land records portal under its own name. What each one is called, what you can actually pull from it, and what the online copy does not prove.

6 October 2026 · 4 min

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Buying guides

Dismil, Bharana, Biswansi: The Local Land Words Nobody Translates

The regional names for land measurement across India, which ones map to a fixed area, which ones vary by village, and how to pin down a unit you have never heard of.

4 October 2026 · 4 min

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Buying guides

Gunta to Cent, Square Feet and Acres: Every Conversion That Matters

1 gunta is 1,089 square feet, 121 square yards and 2.5 cents. The full gunta conversion table, plus the acres-and-guntas notation that trips buyers up.

3 October 2026 · 4 min

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Buying guides

Bigha to Decimal: The Conversion That Changes by State

A decimal is always 435.6 square feet. A bigha is not. How to convert between them correctly in Bihar, Bengal, Assam, UP and Rajasthan, with a worked table.

2 October 2026 · 4 min

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Buying guides

Buying Farmland in Haryana: Jamabandi, Intkal, CLU

How to buy farmland in Haryana: reading the jamabandi, following the intkal, CLU in controlled areas, stamp duty, kanals and marlas, and the shamlat and lal dora traps.

1 October 2026 · 6 min

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Buying guides

15 Red Flags on a Land Listing That Should Make You Walk Away

What to notice before you spend a rupee on travel or lawyers -- the wording, pricing and documentation signals that separate a real parcel from a wasted month.

1 October 2026 · 4 min

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Buying guides

Kanal, Marla, Biswa and Katha: North and East India's Land Units

Punjab's kanal-marla system, UP's biswa, Bengal's katha and the gaj everyone uses, with exact conversions and the state-by-state traps.

30 September 2026 · 5 min

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Buying guides

Gunta, Cent, Ground and Ankanam: South India's Land Units Decoded

The four units that dominate land dealing in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, with exact conversions and where each one is actually used.

29 September 2026 · 5 min

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Buying guides

What "2.36 Acres" Really Means on an Indian Land Listing

In much of south India that figure is not 2.36 decimal acres. It is 2 acres and 36 guntas, which is 2.9 acres. A 23 percent difference hiding in a decimal point.

28 September 2026 · 5 min

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Investment guides

The True Cost of Buying One Acre in India, Itemised

Every charge beyond the land price -- stamp duty, registration, legal, survey, mutation, brokerage -- and the ongoing costs nobody budgets for.

27 September 2026 · 5 min

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Buying guides

Why 1 Bigha Is a Different Size in Every State

A bigha ranges from 6,804 to 27,225 square feet depending on the state. Where the unit came from, what it means in each state, and how buyers lose money on it.

26 September 2026 · 5 min

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Legal guides

12 Land Scams in India and the One Document That Catches Each

The frauds that actually recur in Indian land deals, how each one is run, and the specific record or check that exposes it before you pay.

25 September 2026 · 5 min

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Buying guides

Indian Land Units: The Complete Conversion Cheat Sheet

Acre, gunta, cent, bigha, gaj, kanal, katha, ground and ankanam in one place, with exact square-foot values and the regions each unit is actually used in.

24 September 2026 · 6 min

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Buying guides

Broker or Direct? How to Buy Farmland Without Overpaying for Either

What a good land broker actually does, what they cost, where direct purchase saves money and where it costs more, and how to structure either so you are protected.

19 September 2026 · 5 min

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Buying guides

Buying Farmland in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh: Bhu Bharati, Pahani and Passbooks

How Telangana's Bhu Bharati portal (which replaced Dharani in 2025) and Andhra Pradesh's land records work, and what farmland buyers must check in each.

18 September 2026 · 4 min

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Buying guides

How to Buy Farmland in Tamil Nadu: Patta, Chitta and the Adangal

Tamil Nadu's land records work differently. What patta, chitta, adangal and FMB sketches show, how to check them, and the state-specific traps for farmland buyers.

16 September 2026 · 5 min

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Market insights

Coimbatore and Erode Farmland: Water, Textiles and the Western Tamil Nadu Belt

Western Tamil Nadu's land market runs on industry and irrigation. How to read the Coimbatore and Erode belt, and the poramboke and patta checks that matter here.

15 September 2026 · 4 min

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Buying guides

How to Buy Farmland in Maharashtra: The 7/12 Extract and What Follows

Maharashtra's farmland rules turn on the 7/12 extract, tukda bandi fragmentation limits and the agriculturist requirement. A step-by-step guide for buyers.

14 September 2026 · 5 min

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Buying guides

How to Verify a Survey Number Matches the Land You Are Standing On

Survey numbers get subdivided, renumbered and misquoted. How to read a tippan, order a re-survey and confirm the parcel on the ground matches the deed.

12 September 2026 · 4 min

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Market insights

Pune and Nashik Farmland: Two Markets, Two Very Different Theses

Pune's peri-urban land trades on the conversion option. Nashik trades on horticulture. Why the two markets need different analysis and different checks.

11 September 2026 · 4 min

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Buying guides

Soil Types in India and What They Can Actually Grow

Red, black, alluvial, laterite and sandy soils -- where each occurs, what it supports, how to test it cheaply, and what soil type does to farmland value.

10 September 2026 · 4 min

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Buying guides

The Farmland Site Visit Checklist: 20 Things to Check Before You Offer

What to walk, measure, photograph and ask on a farmland site visit -- including the checks that only work in person and the questions neighbours answer honestly.

8 September 2026 · 5 min

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Market insights

The Hyderabad Farmland Market: Reading Telangana's Land Belt

Hyderabad's farm plot boom, the Bhu Bharati record system that replaced Dharani, and the checks that matter most in Telangana -- including the prohibited property list buyers skip.

7 September 2026 · 4 min

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Legal guides

Gram Panchayat Records and NOCs: The Local Layer Buyers Overlook

Karnataka's Form 9 and Form 11, the panchayat khata and the gram panchayat NOC: what village records prove, what they don't, and the warning signs.

5 September 2026 · 4 min

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Market insights

Bangalore's Peri-Urban Farmland Corridors: How to Read Each Direction

The land market around Bangalore behaves differently on every side of the city. What drives each corridor, what to verify in each, and where the water risk sits.

4 September 2026 · 5 min

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Legal guides

OCI Cardholders and Inherited Farmland: What You Can Keep, Sell and Repatriate

OCI holders and NRIs cannot buy Indian agricultural land but can inherit it. What you may keep, who you can sell to, and how repatriation works.

2 September 2026 · 5 min

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Market insights

What Actually Drives Farmland Appreciation in India

Land near cities does not appreciate because it is land. Six drivers that move farmland prices, how to read them early, and the ones that turn out to be noise.

1 September 2026 · 5 min

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Legal guides

Power of Attorney in Land Deals: When It Is Fine and When It Is a Trap

GPA sales are not ownership. What the Supreme Court held in Suraj Lamp, how to verify a PoA is live, and the checks to run before accepting one.

30 August 2026 · 5 min

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Legal guides

Stamp Duty and Registration on Agricultural Land: What You Actually Pay

How stamp duty is calculated on farmland, why guidance value matters more than your sale price, and the charges buyers leave out of their budget.

26 August 2026 · 4 min

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Investment guides

Farmland vs REITs vs Plotted Development: Choosing the Right Land Exposure

Three ways to hold Indian real estate exposure, compared on liquidity, ticket size, income, tax, control and the specific risks each one carries.

24 August 2026 · 5 min

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Legal guides

Khata and Mutation: The Step After Registration That Buyers Forget

Registration transfers ownership. Mutation updates the revenue record. Skip it and you face problems at resale, at the bank, and with the tax department.

22 August 2026 · 4 min

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Investment guides

Leasing Out Farmland in India: Models, Income and the Tenancy Risk

Cash rent, crop share and corporate leases compared -- plus the state tenancy laws that can turn a casual arrangement into a claim against your land.

20 August 2026 · 5 min

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Legal guides

Land Ceiling Limits in India: How Much Agricultural Land You Can Legally Hold

The most agricultural land a family can legally hold in each Indian state, how ceilings are counted in standard acres, and what happens to surplus.

18 August 2026 · 5 min

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Investment guides

Managed Farmland: What You Are Actually Buying

Managed farmland promises land ownership with none of the work. What the model is, which questions expose a weak one, and the structures that should worry you.

16 August 2026 · 5 min

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Legal guides

Karnataka Sections 79A and 79B: Who Can Legally Buy Agricultural Land

The 2020 amendment removed Karnataka's income cap and farmer-only rule under Sections 79A and 79B. What changed, what survived, and what still restricts buyers.

14 August 2026 · 5 min

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Investment guides

Capital Gains on Agricultural Land: The Rural Test and Section 54B

Rural agricultural land is not a capital asset, so its sale may attract no capital gains at all. How the distance and population tests work, and how Section 54B relief applies.

12 August 2026 · 6 min

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Legal guides

NA Conversion: Turning Agricultural Land Into Buildable Land, Step by Step

What non-agricultural conversion involves, which departments sign off, what it costs, how long it realistically takes, and when a DC conversion order is not enough.

10 August 2026 · 5 min

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Investment guides

The Real Cost of Holding Farmland in India

Land is not a zero-carry asset. Security, water infrastructure, fencing, management, tax and the cost of neglect -- what holding farmland actually costs each year.

8 August 2026 · 4 min

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Legal guides

Mother Deed and Chain of Title: How to Trace Land Ownership Backwards

The mother deed is the document every later sale descends from. How to build a chain of title, spot a broken link, and handle the gaps older farmland always has.

6 August 2026 · 5 min

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Investment guides

Farmland Yield Math: What an Acre Actually Earns After Costs

How to build an honest per-acre income model for Indian farmland -- gross revenue, input costs, labour, the years before a crop bears, and why yield alone is a poor return.

4 August 2026 · 5 min

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Legal guides

The Encumbrance Certificate, Explained: What 30 Years of EC Actually Shows

What an encumbrance certificate (EC) shows, how to get one, the right period to order, and the two things an EC will never tell you.

2 August 2026 · 4 min

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Legal guides

How to Read an RTC (Pahani): A Column-by-Column Guide

The RTC is Karnataka's core land record, and most buyers only read the owner's name. Here is what every column means and which ones quietly kill deals.

28 July 2026 · 6 min

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Buying guides

Borewell, Canal or Tank: How to Verify a Farmland Water Source Before You Buy

How to test a borewell, read canal command-area maps, check tank irrigation and spot the seller tricks that hide a dry plot before you buy farmland.

24 July 2026 · 6 min

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Buying guides

Agricultural vs Commercial Land: What's the Difference

Zoning, who can buy, pricing, tax and NA conversion: a side-by-side look at agricultural vs commercial land to help you pick the right category.

12 July 2026 · 3 min

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Legal guides

Can NRIs Buy Agricultural Land in India? (2026 Rules)

What FEMA actually allows and restricts for NRIs and OCI cardholders when it comes to agricultural land, plantation property, and farmhouses in India.

12 July 2026 · 6 min

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Investment guides

Farmland Investment Guide: Returns, Risks, and Due Diligence

What actually drives farmland returns in India, the risks buyers underweight, and a practical due-diligence checklist before you commit capital.

12 July 2026 · 3 min

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Legal guides

Understanding Land Titles and Documentation in India

A national overview of the core documents -- RTC/Pahani, 7/12 extract, mutation records, and Encumbrance Certificates -- every land buyer should verify before purchase.

12 July 2026 · 4 min

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Buying guides

How to buy farmland in Karnataka: a step-by-step guide

Everything a first-time farmland buyer in Karnataka needs to know -- legal checks, water source verification, RTC/Pahani documents, and NA conversion basics.

1 July 2026 · 3 min

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Land, decoded.Written by insiders.

Soil Around Bangalore: What the Red Earth Will and Will Not Grow

Recent articles

What NA Conversion Actually Costs and How Long It Takes

Land Registration Charges in Karnataka: What You Actually Pay

Buying Agricultural Land Near Bangalore: A Practical Guide

Meebhoomi, 1B and Adangal: Reading Andhra Pradesh Land Records

Bhu Bharati: What Replaced Dharani in Telangana, and What Buyers Must Check

How to Check Land Records Online in Any Indian State

Dismil, Bharana, Biswansi: The Local Land Words Nobody Translates

Gunta to Cent, Square Feet and Acres: Every Conversion That Matters

Bigha to Decimal: The Conversion That Changes by State

Buying Farmland in Haryana: Jamabandi, Intkal, CLU

15 Red Flags on a Land Listing That Should Make You Walk Away

Kanal, Marla, Biswa and Katha: North and East India's Land Units

Gunta, Cent, Ground and Ankanam: South India's Land Units Decoded

What "2.36 Acres" Really Means on an Indian Land Listing

The True Cost of Buying One Acre in India, Itemised

Why 1 Bigha Is a Different Size in Every State

12 Land Scams in India and the One Document That Catches Each

Indian Land Units: The Complete Conversion Cheat Sheet

Broker or Direct? How to Buy Farmland Without Overpaying for Either

Buying Farmland in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh: Bhu Bharati, Pahani and Passbooks

How to Buy Farmland in Tamil Nadu: Patta, Chitta and the Adangal

Coimbatore and Erode Farmland: Water, Textiles and the Western Tamil Nadu Belt

How to Buy Farmland in Maharashtra: The 7/12 Extract and What Follows

How to Verify a Survey Number Matches the Land You Are Standing On

Pune and Nashik Farmland: Two Markets, Two Very Different Theses

Soil Types in India and What They Can Actually Grow

The Farmland Site Visit Checklist: 20 Things to Check Before You Offer

The Hyderabad Farmland Market: Reading Telangana's Land Belt

Gram Panchayat Records and NOCs: The Local Layer Buyers Overlook

Bangalore's Peri-Urban Farmland Corridors: How to Read Each Direction

OCI Cardholders and Inherited Farmland: What You Can Keep, Sell and Repatriate

What Actually Drives Farmland Appreciation in India

Power of Attorney in Land Deals: When It Is Fine and When It Is a Trap

Stamp Duty and Registration on Agricultural Land: What You Actually Pay

Farmland vs REITs vs Plotted Development: Choosing the Right Land Exposure

Khata and Mutation: The Step After Registration That Buyers Forget

Leasing Out Farmland in India: Models, Income and the Tenancy Risk

Land Ceiling Limits in India: How Much Agricultural Land You Can Legally Hold

Managed Farmland: What You Are Actually Buying

Karnataka Sections 79A and 79B: Who Can Legally Buy Agricultural Land

Capital Gains on Agricultural Land: The Rural Test and Section 54B

NA Conversion: Turning Agricultural Land Into Buildable Land, Step by Step

The Real Cost of Holding Farmland in India

Mother Deed and Chain of Title: How to Trace Land Ownership Backwards

Farmland Yield Math: What an Acre Actually Earns After Costs

The Encumbrance Certificate, Explained: What 30 Years of EC Actually Shows

How to Read an RTC (Pahani): A Column-by-Column Guide

Borewell, Canal or Tank: How to Verify a Farmland Water Source Before You Buy

Agricultural vs Commercial Land: What's the Difference

Can NRIs Buy Agricultural Land in India? (2026 Rules)

Farmland Investment Guide: Returns, Risks, and Due Diligence

Understanding Land Titles and Documentation in India

How to buy farmland in Karnataka: a step-by-step guide

Land, decoded.
Written by insiders.