Why is an 11E sketch called a pre-mutation sketch?

Because it is drawn by a licensed surveyor ahead of registration, before the records are mutated. It maps the slice being sold, gifted or partitioned.

When will a sub-registrar ask for an 11E sketch?

At registration of a deed that deals with a fraction of a survey number. A deed for an entire number or hissa can go ahead without one.

How does podi differ from the sketch?

The sketch is a drawing made for one transaction. Podi is the department's lasting subdivision, in which each owner's measured piece gets its own hissa number and RTC.

Where can the sketch be applied for?

On the Mojini portal, or at a Nadakacheri or taluk office. The neighbours are notified before a surveyor measures the land.

Do plots in approved layouts come under the 11E rule?

Their identity comes from the layout plan's site number and the khata instead. The sketch is meant for land that is still held under an RTC.

11E Sketch and Podi Explained for Karnataka Land Buyers

An offer of "one acre out of three" is common around Bangalore, and it hides a legal question: which acre? Karnataka answers with a surveyor's drawing known as the 11E, followed by a formal division called podi. This explainer takes a buyer through both, from the first paper to the final RTC in the buyer's name.

Start With the 11E Sketch

The 11E sketch maps the exact slice of land that is about to change hands by sale, gift or partition. A licensed surveyor draws it ahead of registration, which explains the nickname pre-mutation sketch. The requirement dates from 2006 and applies to any deed that deals with only a fraction of a survey number.

On site, the surveyor measures the slice and places it inside the full outline of the number. Dimensions, area and the holdings next door are all written on the drawing. The registration office will want it, and the deed refers to it.

The aim is to end a familiar muddle, one that has long troubled buyers of agricultural land. Earlier deeds for "one acre in Sy. No. 75" never said where the acre began or ended. A sketch pins it down before the registration fee is paid.

Then Podi, the Formal Subdivision

Podi, sometimes spelt phodi, is the Survey Department's own subdivision work. Each owner's share is measured, marked on the ground and entered on the survey map. Every share then gets a separate hissa number, such as 75/1 or 75/2, plus an RTC.

Joint owners may request it themselves, a route often called tatkal podi. It can also follow the sale of a portion, which lets the buyer's piece be separated in the records. A buyer who sees a finished podi has the cleanest position, since the seller is alone on an RTC that matches the offered land.

Without podi, a family holding can look reassuring yet be hard to sell. Picture four brothers recorded together on one RTC: each owns a share of the whole, but none owns a measured plot. Any deed for "their" portion would rest on an understanding among themselves, not on the map.

Reading the Other Records Alongside

The RTC, also called the pahani, names the owner and states area, land type and any loan or government claim. The tippani holds field measurements from the original survey. The akarband gives the settled size of the whole number, with its kharab land and assessment.

The mutation register logs each change of ownership with the order behind it, and the village map shows where a number falls among its neighbours. A buyer compares all of these with the sketch. If the RTC and akarband disagree, the Survey Department repairs the entries through durasti, which can cut the area on paper. The price should then follow the corrected figure.

One more entry needs attention, namely kharab. This is land recorded as unfit to farm, such as rock, a track or a stream. Kharab used by the public is government property, so it is not sold with the land.

How the Application Works

Applicants use Mojini, the department's web portal, or walk into a Nadakacheri or taluk office. The form lists the survey number, owners and area to be measured, with a fee for each number. A surveyor is then assigned and announces the measurement date.

Neighbours get the notice too, so boundaries can be agreed with the surveyor present. This step matters, because a boundary agreed on the ground is far harder to dispute later. The approved sketch is issued under a number that a buyer can check online. Following registration of the deed, the revenue office takes up mutation, enters the buyer's name, assigns the hissa number and issues a new RTC.

Plots in Approved Layouts Are Different

A site inside a sanctioned residential layout is known by its plan number and its khata, so the 11E sketch is not the document that counts. The developer converts the land and secures approval before selling any site. Survey papers of the parent land still belong in the title review, along with the conversion order.

A warning sign is a plot offered as a share of a survey number when there is no approved layout plan behind it. A buyer who meets such an offer should ask which of the records above can be produced. Such offers deserve a pause and a lawyer's opinion.

A Buyer's Checklist

Eight things should be confirmed before an advance is paid for a slice of a larger holding.

The newest RTC carries the seller's name and an area equal to the offer
Podi has been completed, or the number of owners on the RTC is understood
A sketch for the slice exists, and its number checks out on Mojini
Areas on the RTC, the akarband and the drawing agree, or a durasti explains the gap
Kharab is accounted for and kept out of the area sold
A surveyor has walked the boundary and the stones match the sketch
Extracts of mutation and an encumbrance certificate span the whole title period
Mutation is followed up after registration until a new RTC arrives

Our team can introduce approved plotted projects in the city; just reach out through the contact page. A companion piece on plot boundary checks explains the site walk step by step.