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District guide
Buying Land in Rohtas
Bihar’s canal-fed paddy belt on the Sone: Sasaram and Dehri, the Kaimur plateau edge, a planned Varanasi–Kolkata expressway and Sone water for Sasaram.
3,851 sq km
Area (CGWB district profile)
29.6 lakh
Population (Census 2011)
1,144 mm
Normal annual rainfall (CGWB)
36.0%
Groundwater development (CGWB)
*Indicative range across districts and land types. Stamp duty, registration and conversion charges are additional. Local measurement units vary — every listing states the unit it is priced in. Not a valuation or an offer.
District land record — Rohtas
Rev. 2026 · Farmland India desk
State
Bihar
Sub-division
Three sub-divisions (Sasaram, Dehri, Bikramganj) and 19 blocks: Akhorigola, Bikramganj, Chenari, Dawath, Dehri, Dinara, Karagar, Karakat, Kochas, Nasriganj, Nauhatta, Nokha, Rajpur, Rohtas, Sanjhouli, Sasaram, Sheosagar, Surajpur and Tilothu (CGWB district profile)
Key markets
Sasaram · Dehri · Bikramganj · Karakat · Kochas · Nokha
Demand anchors
Varanasi–Kolkata Expressway (NH-319B) with a Sone crossing at Tilauthu (Construction World) · Sone water supply to Sasaram announced Oct 2026 (UNI)
Rail
Rohtas lies on the Grand Trunk Road corridor; check Indian Railways for current services
Size and population
3,851 sq km and about 29.6 lakh people at the 2011 Census (CGWB district profile)
Pricing unit
Asking prices are usually quoted in kattha or decimal; no sourced price series is shown
Local units
Kattha and bigha vary in size across Bihar and are not fixed by a single official conversion; 1 decimal is one-hundredth of an acre (435.6 sq ft). Always convert to acres or sq ft on the deed.
Land records
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Land law is state law. These rules are maintained on the Bihar page and apply to every district within it.
Rohtas — land purchase legal rules
Bihar does not reserve agricultural land for farmers the way Gujarat or Maharashtra do, so an Indian resident who is not a cultivator can usually buy farmland here. The limits that bite are different: a family land ceiling, a conversion permission before any non-farm use, an unfinished statewide resurvey that is rewriting old records, and the usual NRI bar under FEMA. Most buyer problems in Bihar come from the records, not from the law.
Who can buy agricultural land? We found no provision in Bihar’s tenancy or ceiling laws that limits farmland purchases to agriculturists. What the Bihar Land Reforms (Fixation of Ceiling Area and Acquisition of Surplus Land) Act, 1961 controls is how much a family may hold, and section 16 bars any acquisition by transfer, exchange, lease, mortgage or settlement that would take the buyer’s family above its ceiling. Inheritance, bequest and gift are outside that bar.
Ceiling limits: Section 4 of the 1961 Act sets the ceiling for a family of up to five by land class: 15 acres for land irrigated by government works and double-cropped, 18 acres for land on private tubewells or lift irrigation, 25 acres for one-season irrigated land, 30 acres for other land including orchards, 37.5 acres for diara or chaur land and 45 acres for hilly, sandy or perennially submerged land. Each extra family member adds one-tenth of the ceiling, up to one and a half times the limit. A “family” is a person, spouse and minor children, and companies, trusts and institutions count as persons.
Conversion to non-farm use: The Bihar Agriculture Land (Conversion for Non-Agriculture Purposes) Act, 2010 requires prior permission from the Sub-Divisional Officer before agricultural land is used for anything else. The fee is 10% of market value as set by the Collector under the Stamp Act, the SDO must decide within 90 days, and converting without permission draws a penalty of half the fee on top of the fee. The Act does not apply inside municipal areas or areas notified as urban, commercial or industrial through a master plan, where building and layout rules take over instead.
Mutation and the Jamabandi: A registered deed is not the end of the job. The buyer has to apply for mutation, called Dakhil Kharij, so that the Jamabandi (register II) moves to the buyer’s name and rent receipts are issued to the buyer. Both steps run online through Bihar Bhumi, and errors in the digitised Jamabandi are corrected through the Parimarjan portal. Sellers whose Jamabandi carries a wrong name, area or plot number should fix it before registry, not after.
The special land survey: Bihar is resurveying land under the Bihar Special Survey and Settlement Act, 2011, which will produce a new Khatiyan (record of rights) and maps for each village. The deadline was moved to December 2026 in March 2025 (PTI via ThePrint), and the revenue minister was reported in March 2026 to have set December 2027 for completion (Prabhat Khabar, March 2026). Buyers in a village under survey should check whether the seller filed the self-declaration and whether any claim or objection is pending on the plot.
Government, Bhoodan and estate land: A large share of disputes involves land that was never the seller’s to sell: government land recorded as gair mazarua, Bhoodan land, or land of former estates. The revenue department reported that 2,56,664.88 acres of the 6,48,593.14 acres donated under Bhoodan had been distributed, and that about 15,358 acres of the former Bettiah Raj estate were set to be taken over (Deccan Herald). Check the khata category in the Khatiyan before paying any token money.
Scheduled Areas and tribal land: Bihar is not among the ten states with notified Fifth Schedule Areas (PIB). The Chotanagpur and Santhal Parganas tenancy restrictions on tribal land went with those regions to Jharkhand in 2000, so buyers moving between the two states should not assume the same rules apply.
Planned township zones: Bihar has finalised areas for 11 greenfield satellite townships and in April 2026 the Urban Development Department barred sale, purchase and construction in seven of them, including the Pataliputra Township around Patna (Prabhat Khabar, April 2026). The ban on sales was lifted in August 2026, though a landowner inside the Pataliputra township area must first inform the government before selling, and a cabinet decision reported on 29 October 2026 removed the restriction in the satellite townships, with construction to follow the development control rules (Prabhat Khabar, 9 August 2026; Prabhat Khabar, 29 October 2026). Zoning under these plans now decides what a plot can be used for.
Documents to ask for: Before paying an advance, collect the current Jamabandi page and the latest rent receipt (lagan rasid), the Khatiyan (record of rights) from the last settled survey and, where it exists, the new survey entry, the Bhu Naksha map sheet with the plot number marked, the seller’s chain of registered deeds (kewala) for at least the last 30 years, the mutation order that put the land in the seller’s name, and a land possession certificate (LPC) from the circle office. Match the khata, khesra (plot) number, area and boundaries across every document. Our Bhu Naksha guide and mutation status guide show how to pull these online.
NRI and OCI buyers: Under the RBI’s Master Direction on acquisition of immovable property, NRIs and OCIs may buy immovable property in India other than agricultural land, plantation property or a farm house. They can inherit such land. Our NRI guide covers the options in detail.
- No farmer-only rule found
- Ceiling Act 1961
- Conversion Act 2010 (SDO)
- Dakhil Kharij mutation
- Special survey to 2027 (reported)
- NRI agri: barred (RBI)
- Records via Bihar Bhumi
Rohtas — district-specific notes
The Bihar state page applies to Rohtas in full: the ceiling law, the 2010 conversion rule, mutation through Bihar Bhumi and the NRI bar. These five points are specific to the district.
⚠ Most farmland is canal-commanded. The Sone canal system irrigates about 163,700 ha, and ICAR-CRIDA records canals as about 86% of the district’s irrigated area (CGWB district profile; ICAR-CRIDA). A plot’s value depends on whether its distributary actually carries water to the tail end, so ask for the canal-command status and talk to the neighbouring farmers before you pay.
⚠ The south is sub-hilly, and the CGWB describes the Kaimur plateau in the west (CGWB district profile). Land on the plateau fringe can be forest, hill or government land even where a seller calls it farmland; check the Jamabandi category and ask the forest office before you treat such a plot as farmland.
⚠ The Varanasi–Kolkata Expressway, named NH-319B by NHAI, is planned to cross the Sone at Tilauthu near Sasaram and to pass through the Kaimur hills in a proposed tunnel (Construction World, 26 Jul 2023). Plots near a draft alignment may fall under acquisition; ask the district land acquisition office before paying an advance.
⚠ Fluoride is the water-quality problem the CGWB names, in places north of the Grand Trunk Road and across most of the south (CGWB district profile). Test the water before you plan a farmhouse or a drinking-water source.
⚠ Bihar’s special land survey has been extended more than once and is still running in many mauzas (Deccan Herald). Check on Bihar Bhumi whether the mauza has finished survey and whether the Khatiyan and Jamabandi match what the seller shows you.
Read the full Bihar land buying guide for the ceiling, conversion, survey and NRI rules.
- Hill and forest land
- Expressway acquisition
- MVR revised June 2026
- Canal command land
- Survey in progress
District overview
Rohtas — a canal-irrigated paddy district on the Sone, with a plateau edge to the south
Rohtas district covers about 3,851 sq km in south-west Bihar and had about 29.6 lakh people at the 2011 Census. It has three sub-divisions, Sasaram, Dehri and Bikramganj, and 19 blocks, with Sasaram as the headquarters (CGWB district profile; district website). The north is flat alluvial plain at about 80 to 90 m above sea level; the south is sub-hilly, with the Kaimur plateau in the west. The Sone forms the southern and eastern boundary and feeds the canal system that defines the district’s farming.
The district is best known as a canal-irrigated rice belt. The Sone canals irrigate about 163,700 ha, a net irrigated area of about 192,000 ha in all, and ICAR-CRIDA gives rice on about 195,000 ha and wheat on about 140,000 ha, with cropping intensity near 167% (CGWB district profile; ICAR-CRIDA). That farming base makes Rohtas more of an agricultural market than a speculative one.
The projects are announcements rather than finished roads. In July 2023 NHAI named the six-lane greenfield Varanasi–Kolkata Expressway as NH-319B; the route enters Bihar at Chand, crosses the Sone at Tilauthu, Sasaram, and reaches Aurangabad along the Grand Trunk Road, with a five-km Kaimur tunnel proposed, at an estimated Rs 350 billion (Construction World, 26 Jul 2023). In October 2026 the Bihar Chief Minister said Sone river water would reach Sasaram and Aurangabad before March 2027, and that a new township in Rohtas was being planned; development projects of more than Rs 400 crore were inaugurated or had foundation stones laid that day (UNI, 6 Oct 2026).
The government rate changed on 19 June 2026. The MVR doubled for urban and peripheral land and rose 1.6 times for rural land, and general stamp duty rose from 6% to 7% (Prabhat Khabar, 18 Jun 2026). Most Rohtas villages fall in the rural band; the doubled band covers the rings around towns such as Sasaram and Dehri.
On water, the CGWB classes all 19 blocks as safe, with district development at 36.0%. The range is wide: 79.8% in Tilothu, 55.1% in Kochas and 54.1% in Dehri, against 21.8% in Chenari and Nasriganj. Rainfall is about 1,144 mm in the CGWB booklet but only 746.6 mm in ICAR-CRIDA’s ten-year average, so treat rainfall figures as indicative.
- Sasaram
- Dehri
- Bikramganj
- Sone canal
- Kaimur plateau edge
- Grand Trunk Road
Transaction costs
Stamp duty & registration in Rohtas
7%
General stamp duty from 19 June 2026
up from 6%, as reported by Prabhat Khabar
2.0x / 1.6x
MVR multiplier from 19 June 2026
2.0x urban and peripheral land, 1.6x rural land
5% a year
Annual MVR increase
with a full MVR review every three years
The state rates apply here. Prabhat Khabar reported on 18 June 2026 that from 19 June general stamp duty rose from 6% to 7%, the Minimum Value Register (MVR, the government’s floor value for registration) was doubled for urban and peripheral land and raised 1.6 times for rural land, women buyers get 0.4% off stamp duty and 0.1% off the registration fee, and the MVR will rise 5% each financial year with a full review every three years (Prabhat Khabar, 18 Jun 2026). Peripheral land means land within 8 km of a municipal corporation, 4 km of a nagar parishad or 2 km of a nagar panchayat. For Rohtas that means the rings around Sasaram, Dehri and other nagar parishads, where applicable; most villages and the plateau fringe fall in the 1.6x rural category. The report does not state the registration fee or say whether the older extra 2% duty in municipal areas continues; the 2017-18 state audit gave a 2% registration fee (CAG report No. 2 of 2019), so ask the sub-registrar for the current total before you budget. Our stamp duty guide and MVR guide explain how to look up the rate for a plot, and fees are paid through Nibandhan.
Know the belt
What is moving prices in Rohtas
Reported expressway and water-supply developments; no listing-site prices are used.
Sasaram and the Sone water-supply belt
District headquarters market
Sasaram is the headquarters and the Sone crossing point named for the expressway, and the Chief Minister said in October 2026 that Sone water would reach it before March 2027 (UNI; Construction World). Demand is for plots and small commercial land.
Check: which ring of the town the plot lies in and whether it is on the water-supply network.
Dehri and Tilothu on the Sone
Sone-crossing belt
Tilothu block is where NH-319B is planned to cross the Sone at Tilauthu (Construction World). The CGWB gives Tilothu the highest groundwater development in the district, 79.8%, and Dehri 54.1%.
Check: the acquisition status of the plot and groundwater depth before paying for irrigated land.
Bikramganj, Dinara and the north plain
Grand Trunk Road paddy belt
The northern blocks are alluvial plain south of the Grand Trunk Road with canal supply and low groundwater development: Bikramganj 33.4%, Dinara 29.5% (CGWB).
Check: canal-command status and the mauza’s survey status.
Chenari, Nauhatta and the plateau fringe
Sub-hilly south
The south is sub-hilly with the Kaimur plateau in the west, and groundwater development is low in Chenari (21.8%) and Nauhatta (26.3%) (CGWB). Hill, forest and government land entries need close checking.
Check: the Jamabandi category (hill, forest or government land) and the physical boundary.
Asking price
We found no newspaper or official price series for Rohtas farmland, so none is shown. Government rates went up sharply from 19 June 2026 (Prabhat Khabar); use the MVR for the mauza and recent registered deeds in the same village as your reference, and treat broker quotes as asking prices.
Connectivity
How Rohtas connects — road, rail and air
The Grand Trunk Road corridor is the spine. Drive times to villages are not given because no source was found.
🚗 By road
✈️ By air
🚆 By rail
No drive times to villages are given because no source was found. The expressway is a plan; its timeline is not confirmed.
Growth catalysts
Upcoming infrastructure & developments
Status labels reflect sources read in November 2026. Government-announced timelines are not guaranteed; items with a single or older source say so.
00Open
03Catalysts
Agriculture & terrain
Soil, crops & water in Rohtas
A rice and wheat district on old alluvium, irrigated mainly from the Sone canals, with a sub-hilly south.
Crops
ICAR-CRIDA lists rice on about 195,000 ha, of which about 94,000 ha is rainfed, wheat on about 140,000 ha, pulses on 31,000 ha and oilseeds on about 11,600 ha, with cropping intensity about 167% (ICAR-CRIDA).
- Rice, then wheat
- Pulses
- Mustard and toria
- Pigeonpea
Soils
Old alluvium covers most of the district: reddish-yellow loamy soil on about 44%, heavy grey clay loam about 35%, and new alluvium sandy loam about 19% (ICAR-CRIDA). The CGWB notes yellowish to reddish-brown soils in the forest and hilly south (CGWB).
- Reddish-yellow loam
- Grey clay loam
- Sandy loam
Horticulture
Mango covers about 5,600 ha, with guava about 3,200 ha, and potato is the leading vegetable at about 10,300 ha, followed by okra, cauliflower and onion (ICAR-CRIDA).
- Mango
- Potato
- Guava
Water and irrigation
The CGWB reports canals irrigating 163,686 ha and tubewells 22,069 ha out of a net irrigated area of 192,365 ha, with district groundwater development at 36.0% (CGWB). ICAR-CRIDA puts canals at about 86% of a gross irrigated area of 188,000 ha, with about 153,000 ha rainfed.
Rainfall and rivers
The CGWB gives normal annual rainfall of 1,144.2 mm, about 90% in June to September, while ICAR-CRIDA’s ten-year average is 746.6 mm over 53 rainy days (CGWB; ICAR-CRIDA). The Sone forms the southern and eastern boundary and feeds the canal system.
At a glance
Rohtas vs. nearby districts
| District | Land and water | What links it to Rohtas |
|---|---|---|
| Kaimur (west) | Plateau and plain | Listed in the same South Bihar Alluvial Plain zone as Rohtas by ICAR-CRIDA, and on the NH-319B route through the Kaimur hills ([ICAR-CRIDA](https://icar-crida.res.in/CP/Bihar/BR30_Rohtas_28.12.2013.pdf); [Construction World](https://www.constructionworld.in/transport-infrastructure/highways-and-roads-infrastructure/nhai-names-varanasi-kolkata-expressway-as-nh319b/42723)) |
| Aurangabad (east) | Sone-fed paddy and hills | Named with Sasaram for Sone water supply and as the NH-319B Grand Trunk Road link ([UNI](https://www.uniindia.com/east-india/development-bihar-cm-sone-water-supply/204705); [Construction World](https://www.constructionworld.in/transport-infrastructure/highways-and-roads-infrastructure/nhai-names-varanasi-kolkata-expressway-as-nh319b/42723)) |
| Gaya Ji (Gaya) (south-east) | City, airport, plateau fringe | NH-319B leaves Bihar for Jharkhand after Gaya and Aurangabad; the route also touches Imamganj in Gaya ([Construction World](https://www.constructionworld.in/transport-infrastructure/highways-and-roads-infrastructure/nhai-names-varanasi-kolkata-expressway-as-nh319b/42723)) |
No price series is available for any of these districts, so the table compares land type and links only. Compare the MVR and registered deeds rather than asking prices.
Farmland India view
Why investors look at Rohtas
Five reasoned points for Rohtas, each tied to a source on this page.
Canal irrigation is the core value
Canals supply most of the water, and cropping intensity is about 167% (ICAR-CRIDA). Land with reliable canal supply and a clean Jamabandi is the strongest farming asset in the district.
An expressway plan, not a road yet
NH-319B has been named and a Sone crossing at Tilauthu is planned (Construction World), but no construction timeline is confirmed. Treat it as a reason to watch, not to pay a premium.
Water for Sasaram
Sone water supply to Sasaram was announced for before March 2027 (UNI). If it arrives, the town’s plots and small commercial land gain; check the delivery before you pay for it.
A higher government rate changes the cost base
The June 2026 MVR rise and 7% stamp duty raise the cost of each registration (Prabhat Khabar). Only land near towns is in the doubled band.
Groundwater headroom in most blocks
District development is 36.0% and ranges from 21.8% in Chenari to 79.8% in Tilothu (CGWB). That leaves room for tubewells in most blocks, but Tilothu is already heavily used.
Confirm Jamabandi, mutation, zoning and acquisition status directly — these are not certified by Farmland India’s review.
STRAIGHT TALK
Risks & challenges in Rohtas
District-specific risks. Read the state page for the general Bihar risks on ceiling, conversion and records.
Canal tail-end shortage
ICAR-CRIDA lists delayed or limited canal water release among the district’s drought risks (ICAR-CRIDA). A plot at the tail end of a distributary can go short, so price it below land with assured water.
Hill, forest and government land
The south is sub-hilly and the Kaimur plateau lies in the west (CGWB). A plot shown as farmland on a broker’s sketch may be recorded differently in the Jamabandi.
Expressway acquisition
The expressway plan needs land (Construction World). Paying an advance for land near a draft alignment can end in a compensation dispute.
Fluoride in groundwater
The CGWB reports high fluoride in places north of the Grand Trunk Road and across most of the south (CGWB). Test water before building a farmhouse.
Peripheral MVR multiplier
Land within 4 km of a nagar parishad or 2 km of a nagar panchayat is charged at twice the old MVR (Prabhat Khabar). Confirm the ring before you settle on price and budget.
Mismatched records
Old Khatiyan entries, unmutated inheritance and the ongoing special survey mean records often differ from the field (Deccan Herald). Match the plot number on Bihar Bhumi with a physical measurement.
Joint family land
Unpartitioned joint land needs every co-sharer’s signature, including those who work away. A missing signature can void the sale years later.
Rainfall uncertainty
Rainfall figures differ widely between sources, and drought and dry spells are listed contingencies (ICAR-CRIDA). A rain-fed plot can fail in a dry year.
Who to contact
Local revenue & planning offices
The Collectorate and district administration are listed on the Rohtas district website. Mutation and Jamabandi work go through the circle office and Bihar Bhumi; record corrections run through Parimarjan. Conversion of agricultural land is handled by the sub-divisional officer at Sasaram, Dehri or Bikramganj, and registration through the sub-registrar office covering your mauza, booked on Nibandhan. For forest or hill land, ask the divisional forest office.
KEEP EXPLORING
Explore more areas
Other districts in Bihar
- Araria
- Arwal
- Aurangabad
- Banka
- Begusarai
- Bhagalpur
- Bhojpur
- Buxar
- Darbhanga
- East Champaran
- Gaya Ji (gaya)
- Gopalganj
- Jamui
- Jehanabad
- Kaimur (bhabua)
- Katihar
- Khagaria
- Kishanganj
- Lakhisarai
- Madhepura
- Madhubani
- Munger
- Muzaffarpur
- Nalanda
- Nawada
- Patna
- Purnia
- Saharsa
- Samastipur
- Saran
- Sheikhpura
- Sheohar
- Sitamarhi
- Siwan
- Supaul
- Vaishali
- West Champaran
COMMON QUESTIONS
Frequently asked questions
Everything buyers, NRIs and investors ask before their first reviewed farmland purchase in Rohtas.
Visit full wiki01 of 04
What are the stamp duty and MVR changes for land in Rohtas?
Prabhat Khabar reported that from 19 June 2026 Bihar’s general stamp duty rose from 6% to 7%, the MVR doubled for urban and peripheral land and rose 1.6 times for rural land. Ask the sub-registrar for the current registration fee and your plot’s category.
02 of 04
Is there a price guide for farmland in Rohtas?
We found no newspaper or official price series for Rohtas farmland, so we show none. Use the revised 2026 MVR for the mauza and land category, and recent registered deeds in the same village, as your references.
03 of 04
Is Rohtas farmland canal-irrigated?
Largely, yes. ICAR-CRIDA records canals as about 86% of the irrigated area, and the CGWB puts Sone canal irrigation at over 163,000 ha. Plots at the tail end or on the plateau fringe can still be short of water, so check the distributary and the water-user record.
04 of 04
Which projects could affect land in Rohtas?
NHAI named the six-lane Varanasi–Kolkata Expressway as NH-319B, with a Sone crossing at Tilauthu near Sasaram, in 2023, and the Bihar Chief Minister said in October 2026 that Sone water would reach Sasaram and Aurangabad by March 2027. A new township in Rohtas was described as only being planned.
Transparency
Sources and references
Law and courts
- Bihar Agricultural Land (Conversion for Non-Agricultural Purposes) Act, 2010
- Bihar Land Reforms (Fixation of Ceiling Area and Acquisition of Surplus Land) Act, 1961
- CAG, Report No. 2 of 2019: stamp and registration fees, Bihar
Government
- Rohtas district administration
- CGWB: Ground Water Information Booklet, Rohtas
- ICAR-CRIDA: District Agriculture Contingency Plan, Rohtas
- Bihar Bhumi, land records
- Parimarjan, record corrections
- Nibandhan e-services
News
- Prabhat Khabar: new MVR and 7% stamp duty from 19 June 2026
- Construction World: NHAI names Varanasi–Kolkata Expressway as NH-319B, 26 Jul 2023
- UNI: Sone water supply to Sasaram, 6 Oct 2026
- Deccan Herald: Bihar land survey deadline extended
Further reading
- Buying land in Bihar: state guide
- Bihar Bhumi: view Jamabandi online
- Dakhil Kharij (mutation) status in Bihar
- MVR rate in Bihar
Data-currency note: sources were read in November 2026. Project status, the MVR and township rules change often; check the linked source and the relevant office before relying on any figure.
For developers
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Browse reviewed projects and individual land parcels across Rohtas — or if you own land here, list it with platform review and reach serious buyers.