How to Buy Land in Dholera: TP Schemes, Costs, Red Flags
Three questions decide whether a Dholera plot is buyable, as of 30 October 2026. Is it in one of the 22 villages of the Special Investment Region? Which of the 27 town-planning sub-schemes is it in, and has that sub-scheme reached the preliminary stage (13 have, 14 have not, none is final)? And is it legally non-agricultural land you are allowed to own?
Disclosure: Kanav Arora sells plots in Dholera. This page is written from government documents so you can verify every claim — including against any plot we offer.
This guide answers each question from the authority's own documents, then works through costs, RERA and the fraud patterns on record. Sources are labelled official, news or commercial where it matters. For the airport, fab, expressway and rail timelines, see the Dholera SIR 2026 status check.
How Land Works in Dholera SIR: Pooling, Not Purchase
The Gujarat Special Investment Region Act, 2009 (in force 6 January 2009) created the SIR, and its section 17 applies the Gujarat Town Planning and Urban Development Act, 1976 (GTPUD Act) inside it (SIR Act; official). DSIRDA plans the region and prepares the town-planning (TP) schemes; GIDB, as Apex Authority, sanctions them; DICDL builds infrastructure and allots government land (About; FAQ; official).
A TP scheme is land pooling. Every owner's original plot (OP) goes into the pool, a share is deducted for roads, parks and public uses, and the owner gets back a reconstituted final plot (FP). Nothing is "acquired" in the ordinary sense, which is why the stage a scheme has reached matters more than anything a brochure says.
Step 1: Check the Plot Is in One of the 22 SIR Villages
DSIRDA's development-plan village map lists the 22 villages of the SIR (DP Villages Map; official):
Ambali, Bavaliyari, Bhadiyad, Bhangadh, Bhimtalav, Cher, Dholera, Gogla, Gorasu, Hebatpur, Kadipur, Khun, Mahadevpura, Mingalpur, Mundi, Otariya, Panchi, Rahtalav, Sandhida, Sangasar, Sodhi, Zankhi.
If the 7/12 extract names any other village, the land is outside DSIRDA's jurisdiction, whatever the brochure calls it, and none of the SIR's TP schemes, trunk infrastructure or allotment rates apply to it. A retired page of ours claimed that "AUDA approved" usually means "outside the SIR"; we could not verify that, so we have dropped it. The village test is simpler and conclusive.
There is no official online lookup by survey number. The route is manual:
- Confirm the village is on the list above.
- Find the sub-scheme on DSIRDA's Split TP Schemes Map.
- Locate the original plot on that sub-scheme's OP-to-FP plan (posted for preliminary schemes).
- Get a zoning certificate from DSIRDA.
- Get your OP's line from the scheme's Plan & Redistribution Statement (OP area, FP area, deduction). It is not online; ask DSIRDA, or make the seller produce it.
Step 2: Find the Sub-Scheme and Its Stage
Six draft TP schemes were sanctioned in 2012–13: DTPS-1 and DTPS-2 on 3 October 2012, DTPS-3 to DTPS-6 on 24 October 2013 (DTPS-1 notification; official). They were later split into 27 sub-schemes. Thirteen now have a sanctioned preliminary scheme under s.65 of the GTPUD Act, fourteen are still draft only, and none has a sanctioned final scheme.
All 27 Dholera TP sub-schemes, stage as of 30 October 2026. Sources (official): the Split TP Schemes Map, the 2018 notifications, the 3B page and the 2026 preliminary-scheme pages from 1A-1 to 6A. Villages appear only where a gazette names them; draft-only rows show the parent draft scheme's sanction.
| Sub-scheme | Villages (where stated) | Stage | Gazette Extra No.; SIRAA no. | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1A-1 | Ambali | Preliminary sanctioned | Extra 186; SIRAA/04/2026/01 | 30 Mar 2026 |
| 1A-2 | Kadipur, Ambali, Bhadiyad | Preliminary sanctioned | Extra 187; SIRAA/05/2026/02 | 30 Mar 2026 |
| 1A-3 | Not stated | Draft only | — | Parent DTPS-1: 03-10-2012 (SIRAA/03/2012/566-A) |
| 1A-4 | Not stated | Draft only | — | Parent DTPS-1: 03-10-2012 (SIRAA/03/2012/566-A) |
| 1A-5 | Not stated | Draft only | — | Parent DTPS-1: 03-10-2012 (SIRAA/03/2012/566-A) |
| 1B | Not stated | Draft only | — | Parent DTPS-1: 03-10-2012 (SIRAA/03/2012/566-A) |
| 2A | Dholera, Mundi, Rahtalav, Bhimtalav | Preliminary sanctioned | Extra 422; SIRAA/26/2018/321 | 11 Jul 2018 |
| 2B-1 | Dholera, Kadipur, Bhadiyad, Bhimtalav | Preliminary sanctioned | Extra 188; SIRAA/06/2026/03 | 30 Mar 2026 |
| 2B-2 | Dholera, Gorasu | Preliminary sanctioned | Extra 189; SIRAA/07/2026/04 | 30 Mar 2026 |
| 2B-3 | Dholera, Gorasu, Otariya, Sandhida | Preliminary sanctioned | Extra 190; SIRAA/08/2026/05 | 30 Mar 2026 |
| 2B-4A | Not stated | Draft only | — | Parent DTPS-2: 03-10-2012 (SIRAA/04/2012/566/B) |
| 2B-4B | Not stated | Draft only | — | Parent DTPS-2: 03-10-2012 (SIRAA/04/2012/566/B) |
| 2B-5A | Not stated | Draft only | — | Parent DTPS-2: 03-10-2012 (SIRAA/04/2012/566/B) |
| 2B-5B | Not stated | Draft only | — | Parent DTPS-2: 03-10-2012 (SIRAA/04/2012/566/B) |
| 3A | Dholera, Mundi, Otariya, Sandhida | Preliminary sanctioned | Extra 191; SIRAA/09/2026/06 | 30 Mar 2026 |
| 3B | Panchi, Sangasar, Sandhida | Preliminary sanctioned | Extra 333; SIRAA/03/2025/001 | 11 Nov 2025 |
| 3C-1 | Not stated | Draft only | — | Parent DTPS-3: 24-10-2013 (SIRAA/06/2013/439) |
| 3C-2 | Not stated | Draft only | — | Parent DTPS-3: 24-10-2013 (SIRAA/06/2013/439) |
| 4A | Dholera, Mundi | Preliminary sanctioned | Extra 421; SIRAA/25/2018/320 | 11 Jul 2018 |
| 4B-1 | Dholera, Mundi, Sandhida, Panchi, Hebatpur | Preliminary sanctioned | Extra 192; SIRAA/10/2026/07 | 30 Mar 2026 |
| 4B-2 | Not stated | Draft only | — | Parent DTPS-4: 24-10-2013 (SIRAA/07/2013/440 in the 4B-1 gazette; SIRAA/04/2013/440 in the 4A gazette) |
| 5A | Panchi, Hebatpur | Preliminary sanctioned | Extra 193; SIRAA/11/2026/08 | 30 Mar 2026 |
| 5B | Hebatpur, Bavaliyari | Preliminary sanctioned | Extra 194; SIRAA/12/2026/09 | 30 Mar 2026 |
| 5C-1 | Not stated | Draft only | — | Parent DTPS-5: 24-10-2013 (SIRAA/08/2013/441) |
| 5C-2 | Not stated | Draft only | — | Parent DTPS-5: 24-10-2013 (SIRAA/08/2013/441) |
| 6A | Hebatpur, Bavaliyari | Preliminary sanctioned | Extra 195; SIRAA/13/2026/10 | 30 Mar 2026 |
| 6B | Not stated | Draft only | — | Parent DTPS-6: 24-10-2013 (SIRAA/09/2013/442) |
What the table tells you:
- The activation area is 2A + 4A, the two sub-schemes sanctioned in 2018, not "TP1 and TP2" as older pages (including a retired one of ours) put it.
- Ten sub-schemes reached the preliminary stage on one day, 30 March 2026. Their final-plot locations are now fixed, but DICDL lists no built trunk infrastructure there yet.
- Fourteen sub-schemes have sat at the draft stage since 2012–13. If a seller calls land in one of them "approved", ask for the preliminary-scheme gazette number. There isn't one.
- 2A carries a court caveat. Its schedule makes the decision on Original Plot 910 "subject to outcome of PIL 227/2014", a farmers' petition challenging parts of the SIR Act and the DP/TP schemes, in which the High Court ordered status quo in December 2015 (Business Standard/PTI; news). We could not find a final outcome.
Step 3: Understand What Preliminary vs Final Means for Your Money
What each stage does, from the GTPUD Act text posted on the DSIRDA site (official):
| Stage | What the law does | What it means for a buyer |
|---|---|---|
| Draft | Proposes the layout | The final plot's position and size can still change |
| Preliminary (s.52(1), sanctioned under s.65) | Defines public-purpose land and the final plots. Once in force (s.67), land the authority needs vests in it and OP rights are replaced by FP rights; s.68 allows summary eviction of anyone no longer entitled to occupy | Boundaries freeze here. You own a specific final plot, not your old survey number |
| Final (s.52(3)) | Fixes land values, the increment in value, the contribution (betterment) and compensation | Your betterment bill is set. No Dholera sub-scheme has reached this stage |
The deduction. Section 40(3)(jj), as amended in 2014, lets a scheme take up to 15% of land for roads, 5% for parks, 5% for social infrastructure and 15% for the authority to sell to fund infrastructure: 40% in all. Separately, s.40(3)(j) reserves about 10% for weaker-section housing. In 2014, DSIRDA's CEO at the time said Dholera deductions would be "up to 50%"; one farmer's 22,663 sq m holding was allotted back as 11,331 sq m (Counterview, Jan 2014; news/NGO). We found no notified Dholera-wide percentage: the real figure for any plot is its line in the redistribution statement.
What the deduction does to your price per usable square metre, if you buy an original plot rather than a defined final plot (illustrative arithmetic, not a price guide):
| You buy | Deduction | Final plot you get back | Paid | Effective price per usable sq m |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 sq m OP | 40% (the four statutory heads) | 600 sq m | ₹30,00,000 | ₹5,000 |
| 1,000 sq m OP | 50% (with weaker-section housing; the 2014 "up to 50%") | 500 sq m | ₹30,00,000 | ₹6,000 |
A ₹3,000/sq m original-plot price can become a ₹6,000/sq m final-plot price, the same as DICDL's leasehold residential rate, before any betterment charge. In a preliminary-sanctioned sub-scheme, insist that the agreement and sale deed name the FP number and FP area, not just the old survey number.
Betterment: the bill with no number yet. Under s.79, the contribution is levied on each final plot in proportion to the increase in its value. If the scheme's cost is no more than half the total increment, owners pay the whole cost; otherwise they pay up to half the increment. That amount is fixed only in the final scheme, and no Dholera sub-scheme has one. Every private Dholera plot sold today carries a future liability that nobody can yet price. Put in writing who bears it. A seller cannot have "included" a charge that has not been calculated.
Step 4: Agricultural or Non-Agricultural, and the NRI Double Bar
Two separate laws stop most buyers from owning agricultural land in Dholera:
- Gujarat Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act, 1948, s.63 bars transferring agricultural land to a non-agriculturist, with exceptions such as s.63AA for bona fide industrial use (LiveLaw, Apr 2025; legal press). A relaxation was being studied in 2024 (Gujarat Samachar; news); we found no enacted change as of October 2026.
- FEMA: NRIs and OCIs may buy immovable property in India "other than agricultural land/farmhouse/plantation", and cannot receive such land as a gift; inheriting it is allowed (RBI FAQ, updated 6 Apr 2023; official).
So a resident non-farmer is blocked by s.63, and an NRI is blocked twice. An NRI can buy only land whose non-agricultural status is on record, never a raw farm survey number, however close it sits to the expressway.
Who grants NA status inside the SIR is not settled in any primary text we found. DSIRDA's checklist asks whether NA permission was obtained for restricted-tenure land, which implies the Collector grants NA and DSIRDA grants development permission. That is our inference, not a stated rule. Seller claims that land becomes NA "automatically" inside a TP scheme are unverified; ask for the NA order in writing.
NRI money rules, from the same RBI FAQ: pay through banking channels or NRE/NRO/FCNR accounts. NRO balances and sale proceeds can be repatriated up to US$1 million per financial year, and above that needs RBI approval; if you paid in foreign exchange, ask your bank which route applies. The wider rules are in our NRI investment guide.
Step 5: Verify With DSIRDA's Own Checklist
The best due-diligence list for a Dholera plot is not a dealer's. It is the one DSIRDA uses before granting development permission (For DP, in Gujarati; official). Ask the seller for every item before you pay a token:
| DSIRDA asks for | What it proves |
|---|---|
| TP scheme no., survey no., OP no. and area, FP no. and area, deduction from the FP, sub-plot no. | Exactly which land you are buying, before and after pooling |
| 7/12 extracts no more than 3 months old | Current ownership, tenure and encumbrances |
| Village Form 6, all entries | The mutation history: every past transfer |
| DP and TP sectional maps, and a zoning certificate | What the land may be used for |
| DP/TP deduction undertaking | That the owner accepts the deduction |
| Possession receipt "if scheme final" | Not applicable yet: no scheme is final |
| Consents of other owners whose land was merged into the FP | That co-owners of a pooled final plot agree |
| Whether the land is new or restricted tenure and, if so, the NA permission | Whether the land can be sold and built on |
| CRZ clearance from the State Coastal Zone Management Authority | Coastal-regulation compliance |
| Wildlife clearance under a Forest & Environment Department resolution of 31-05-2012 | Wildlife compliance |
7/12 extracts are available on Gujarat's AnyRoR land-records portal. Add three checks DSIRDA's list does not cover: the jantri value (Step 6), GujRERA if it is a plotted layout (Step 7), and a title search by an independent advocate who does not act for the seller.
Step 6: Work Out the Total Cost
- Stamp duty. The Gujarat Stamp Act (Schedule I, Art. 20(a)) sets 3.5% of the higher of the price paid or the market value (GARVI consolidated Act, Mar 2026; official). In practice buyers pay 4.9%, the 3.5% plus a 1.4% surcharge, according to commercial summaries (ClearTax; Square Yards). We did not retrieve the surcharge notification itself.
- Registration. 1%, waived for a woman sole owner, per the same commercial summaries. A separate women's stamp-duty concession appears in some sources and is contradicted in others; treat it as unconfirmed.
- Market value means jantri. The rates in force come from a Revenue Department GR of 13 April 2023, effective 15 April 2023, which doubled the 2011 rates (GR; official); no newer jantri had been notified as of October 2026 (The Secretariat; news). Look your plot up on GARVI's jantri page: Ahmedabad, Dholera taluka, village, then survey or FP number.
- TP inclusion changes the base. The stamps department values land "converted into non-agricultural and included in the Town Planning Scheme" at the open-land rate, not the agricultural rate (Jantri guidelines; official).
- Undervaluation. Under s.32A an undervalued deed is referred to the Deputy Collector (Stamp Duty Valuation); an appeal must be filed within 90 days with a 25% deposit (Stamps FAQ; official).
- Documents signed abroad. Under s.18, a document executed outside Gujarat, such as a power of attorney an NRI signs abroad, must be presented for stamping within 3 months (Stamps FAQ; official).
- Earth filling, betterment, legal fees. DICDL says plots need 1.5–2 m of fill at the buyer's cost (FAQ), but publishes no rate. Betterment is unpriced until the final scheme (Step 3). There is no official figure for legal fees.
Worked example (illustrative, not a price guide): a privately held 500 sq m final plot at ₹6,000 per sq m, the same as DICDL's residential rate, chosen only to keep the arithmetic readable.
| Item | Price above the jantri value | Jantri value (say ₹36 lakh) above the price |
|---|---|---|
| Agreed price | ₹30,00,000 | ₹30,00,000 |
| Base for duty (higher of price and jantri) | ₹30,00,000 | ₹36,00,000 |
| Stamp duty, 3.5% (statute) | ₹1,05,000 | ₹1,26,000 |
| Surcharge, 1.4% (commercial consensus) | ₹42,000 | ₹50,400 |
| Registration, 1% (commercial consensus; applied to the same base) | ₹30,000 | ₹36,000 |
| Known total | ₹31,77,000 | ₹32,12,400 |
| Earth filling: 1.5–2 m over 500 sq m is 750–1,000 cubic metres | Contractor quote; no official rate | Same |
| Betterment contribution (s.79) | Unknown until the final scheme | Same |
| Advocate and title search | No official figure | Same |
Run your own deed through the GARVI stamp-duty calculator before you sign. This example covers a private sale; a DICDL allotment is a 99-year lease with its own charges (lease premium plus GST, ₹1 per sq m a year in rent, earth filling).
Step 7: Check GujRERA When It Applies
RERA s.3(2)(a) exempts projects of no more than 500 sq m or no more than 8 apartments, counting all phases. Most regulators read this disjunctively (register if either limit is exceeded), and MahaRERA applied it to plotted layouts in 2019, with Rajasthan and Odisha orders following (S.S. Rana; legal commentary). We could not find GujRERA's own position on plotted schemes, so treat any plotted layout above 500 sq m or 8 plots as one that generally needs registration, and search it on the GujRERA portal. GujRERA has penalised sales made before registration under s.59(1), which allows a penalty of up to 10% of the project cost (Taxmann, 2021; legal press).
The converse matters too. A landowner selling one raw parcel is not a promoter's project, so "not on RERA" does not by itself make that sale illegal (a retired page of ours overstated this). Nor can RERA registration fix a draft-only boundary or make agricultural land ownable. Our RERA verification guide explains how to read a registration.
Time to Utility: Why the Cheapest Plot Can Cost the Most
A lower price per square metre buys nothing if the land cannot be used for a decade. Rank any Dholera plot by how many legal and physical steps still stand between it and an end user:
| Where the plot sits | Boundary fixed? | Built trunk infrastructure (DICDL list) | Still to happen before an end user can build |
|---|---|---|---|
| Activation area (TP 2A, 4A) | Yes, since 2018 | Yes: roads, utility corridors, water, power, sewage | Development permission; final scheme and betterment later |
| Preliminary since Nov 2025 or Mar 2026 (3B and ten others) | Yes | None listed | Trunk infrastructure; final scheme and betterment |
| Draft only (14 sub-schemes) | No | None listed | Preliminary sanction, then infrastructure, then the final scheme |
| Outside the 22 villages | Not in any SIR scheme | None from DICDL | Not on the SIR's timeline at all |
The arithmetic of delay is unforgiving. A plot that doubles in value in 7 years has compounded at about 10.4% a year; one that takes 10 years, about 7.2%; one that takes 15 years, about 4.7%. Land lower down this table is cheaper because its clock starts later, and no official document says when it starts.
Documented Red Flags
These patterns are on the public record:
- Villages outside the 22 sold as "Dholera". "Beside the airport site" is proximity, not jurisdiction. Run Step 1.
- Farm survey numbers sold to non-farmers or NRIs. Section 63 and FEMA bar these buyers outright (Step 4).
- "Assured returns" through referral or MLM schemes. In June 2025 the Enforcement Directorate searched 24–25 locations in Rajasthan, Ahmedabad and Delhi under the PMLA in its case against Nexa Evergreen, stemming from a Rajasthan Police FIR. News reports put the money collected at about ₹2,676–2,700 crore from about 70,000 investors promised high returns and Dholera plots; officials said it had no connection with the official project (DeshGujarat, 12 Jun 2025; The Realty Today; news).
- Draft-only land sold as "approved" (Step 2).
- Plotted layouts sold without RERA registration above the 500 sq m or 8-plot thresholds.
- Forged title. Ahmedabad Crime Branch has booked a father and son for forging documents to claim Dholera land (Gujarat Samachar; news). The defence is the full Village Form 6 history and an independent title search.
- Status claims ahead of the record, such as "airport open" or "fab 50% built". Check them in our status check.
Which Buyers This Fits
A reminder: Kanav Arora sells plots in Dholera. Run every check on this page against any plot we offer, and walk away from ours too if it fails one.
| Buyer | Fit | Condition |
|---|---|---|
| Resident Indian, long horizon, final plot in a preliminary-sanctioned sub-scheme | Fits | Steps 1–6 pass; the betterment liability is allocated in writing |
| Business needing land to build on now | Fits, via DICDL | Leasehold allotment at the published rate, in the activation area |
| NRI or OCI | Narrow fit | Non-agricultural status on record; NRE/NRO funding; any POA signed abroad stamped within 3 months |
| Non-farmer offered agricultural land "with NA coming" | Does not fit | Section 63 bars the purchase; no record we found makes NA automatic inside the SIR |
| Buyer of draft-only land at a "pre-launch" discount | High risk | Boundary not fixed; no date for preliminary sanction |
| Investor offered assured returns or referral income | Does not fit | The pattern in the ED's Nexa Evergreen case |
| Buyer with a 1–2 year exit plan | Does not fit | No final scheme, no airport licence, fab output on a 2028 horizon; see the status check |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it safe to buy land in Dholera?
It can be, if the plot is in one of the 22 SIR villages, sits in a sub-scheme with a sanctioned preliminary TP scheme, is legally non-agricultural, and passes DSIRDA's own development-permission checklist. No sub-scheme is final yet, so every private plot still carries an unpriced betterment charge.
Can NRIs buy land in Dholera?
Only non-agricultural land. FEMA bars NRIs and OCIs from agricultural land, farmhouses and plantations, and Gujarat's Tenancy Act s.63 separately bars non-agriculturists. A power of attorney signed abroad must be presented for stamping in Gujarat within 3 months.
What is a TP scheme in Dholera?
A town-planning scheme under the GTPUD Act, 1976, applied to Dholera by the SIR Act, 2009. Original plots are pooled, a share is deducted for roads, parks and public uses (up to 40% under the four statutory heads), and each owner gets back a final plot. Dholera has 27 sub-schemes: 13 preliminary, 14 draft, none final.
What is the stamp duty on land in Dholera?
The Gujarat Stamp Act sets 3.5% of the higher of the price or the jantri value. With the 1.4% surcharge, buyers pay 4.9%, plus 1% registration, according to commercial summaries. Confirm the figures for your deed on the GARVI calculator.
Which Dholera TP schemes are approved?
Thirteen of the 27 sub-schemes have a sanctioned preliminary scheme: 2A and 4A (July 2018), 3B (November 2025), and 1A-1, 1A-2, 2B-1, 2B-2, 2B-3, 3A, 4B-1, 5A, 5B and 6A (30 March 2026). The other 14 are draft only. None is final.
The Bottom Line
A Dholera plot is three documents before it is a location: a village on the 7/12 that appears on DSIRDA's list, a sub-scheme with a preliminary-scheme gazette number, and a non-agricultural status you can legally hold. Get the FP number, the redistribution-statement line and the betterment clause in writing, pay stamp duty on the higher of price and jantri, and assume the final scheme will send a bill. Everything else, from the airport to the fab, is in the status check.
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