Bengaluru BDA Masterplan 2015

The most dangerous mistake a land buyer makes in Bengaluru is buying a plotted layout on agricultural land that has never received DC conversion. DC conversion, formally a Conversion Certificate issued by the Deputy Commissioner, is the mandatory first step before any agricultural land can be legally subdivided and sold for residential use under the RMP 2015. Brokers routinely omit this fact, attract buyers with discounted prices, and by the time the Khata is blocked or the building plan is rejected, the promoter has disappeared.

The scale of this problem is documented. BDA has identified 172 unauthorised layouts within its own jurisdiction, spread across approximately 3,109 acres. A 2024 BDA notification flagged 279 illegal layouts concentrated in Yelahanka, Anekal, Bengaluru South, and Bengaluru East taluks, covering over 27,000 individual plots. These layouts were developed without obtaining RMP 2015 land-use conversion approval. In many cases, developers laid concrete roads, drilled borewells, and raised electricity poles to create the appearance of a sanctioned development, while no park or Civic Amenity site was earmarked as required by BDA regulations.

The zone codes below define what is and is not permitted. Each code determines the FAR, permitted uses, and whether a CLU (Change of Land Use) is required before construction.

The table shows the principal RMP 2015 land-use categories applicable within the BDA's Local Planning Area.

A BDA official confirmed in 2024 that builders selling in flagged layouts had not followed "basic guidelines," with no required road widths, no footpaths, and no parks. Buyers in those layouts will be unable to get a building plan sanction, a Khata transfer, or a bank loan. If a broker cannot show you a valid DC Conversion Order and confirm the survey number is outside the BDA's illegal layout list, the transaction ends there.

Bengaluru's land market moves corridor by corridor, and the BDA zone classification under RMP 2015 is the underlying driver of which corridors have investable land and which are still locked in agricultural or open-space designations.

The strongest current corridors are differentiated by both zone status and infrastructure triggers. North Bengaluru, particularly Yelahanka, Hebbal, Thanisandra, and Devanahalli, is zoned for a mix of residential, commercial, and Hi-Tech industrial land uses in the RMP 2015. The Devanahalli belt, anchored by Kempegowda International Airport and the proposed Namma Metro Blue Line expansion, has seen consistent price appreciation. East Bengaluru, covering Whitefield, Sarjapur Road, Varthur, and Panathur Road, sits on largely residential and some commercial zones under the RMP 2015 and benefits from direct access to the ITPL, Outer Ring Road IT corridor, and Metro Purple Line. South Bengaluru corridors including Kanakapura Road have gained materially from the Namma Metro Green Line extension. The Peripheral Ring Road (PRR), for which BDA was acquiring approximately 750 acres as of late 2024, will when complete restructure land values across East and South-East Bengaluru.

The table below maps each corridor to its dominant zone type and primary risk factor.

The corridor most misread by buyers is the Hesaraghatta and outer North Bengaluru fringe. Proximity to Yelahanka and BDA's proposed Shivaram Karanth Layout has created speculative pricing on land that remains classified AG under the RMP 2015, with no conversion in place. Buying AG-zoned land at residential prices without a CLU approval is a documented path to loss.

Planning-status note (April 2026): Namma Metro Phase 3 (Aug 2024 Union Cabinet approval, construction expected to begin late 2025) serves JP Nagar–Kempapura and Hosahalli–Kadabagere corridors. The Hebbal–Sarjapur line is proposed Metro Yellow Line extension — still at proposal stage with an estimated completion around 2033. "Infrastructure Drivers" in this table reflect announced or under-construction projects, not speculative investment upside.