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District guide
Buying Land in Ayodhya
A pilgrimage district of 2,522 sq km with an airport, a 2031 master plan, Army buffer-zone villages, Purvanchal Expressway access and circle rates raised 30% to 200% in June 2025.
2,522 sq km
Area (district portal)
24.7 lakh people
Census 2011 (district portal)
18 zones
Master Plan 2031
Up 30% to 200%
Circle rates, June 2025
*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.
IGRS UP — Registration & Land Records PortalDistrict land record — Faizabad
Rev. 2026 · Farmland India desk
State
Uttar Pradesh
Division
Ayodhya
Key markets
Ayodhya city · Rudauli · Bikapur · Milkipur
Demand anchors
Ram temple pilgrim demand · Maharshi Valmiki International Airport · Ayodhya Master Plan 2031
Former name
Faizabad — district renamed Ayodhya on 6 November 2018 (Tribune, November 2018)
Area
2,522 sq km (district portal)
Population (Census 2011)
2,470,996, as shown on the district portal
Airport
Maharshi Valmiki International Airport, inaugurated 30 December 2023 (Indian Infrastructure, January 2024)
Neighbours
Barabanki, Amethi, Sultanpur and Ambedkar Nagar are named with Ayodhya on the Purvanchal Expressway route (UPEIDA); other neighbours not sourced here
River
Saryu
Land records portal
UP Bhulekh / IGRS UP
Land law is state law. These rules are maintained on the Uttar Pradesh page and apply to every district within it.
Faizabad — land purchase legal rules
⚠ Two checks come before any advance in Uttar Pradesh: the Revenue Code limit of 5.0586 hectares (about 12.5 acres) on what one person can acquire by purchase or gift, and the registry position in the DNGIR villages near Noida, where a purchase halt was reported in January 2024 and no later word was found. UP Revenue Code 2006, section 89; Sakshi Post, January 2024.
Who can buy agricultural land? The Revenue Code sections we read set a size limit (section 89) and special rules for land held by Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe members (sections 98 and 99). None asks the buyer to be a farmer or to live in the state (UP Revenue Code 2006, IGRS UP). We did not read the whole tenure chapter, so ask the Sub-Registrar whether anything further applies. The Code repealed the Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Act 1950 when it was enforced on 18 December 2015 (SCC Online, February 2016).
Holding limit: section 89(2) of the Code bars a purchase or gift that would take the buyer's total holding in Uttar Pradesh above 5.0586 hectares, about 12.5 acres on our conversion (UP Revenue Code 2006). Under the earlier Act the Supreme Court read a company as a person for this limit and let the excess vest in the State (Oswal Fats and Oils, April 2010). The separate 1960 Ceiling Act caps total holdings; the India Code text gives 7.30 hectares of irrigated land for a family of five or fewer, with additions for larger families, and the text mixes acres and hectares, so the current schedule needs checking (India Code).
DNGIR villages: the Dadri-Noida-Ghaziabad Investment Region covers 84 notified villages, 63 in Bulandshahr and 21 in Gautam Buddh Nagar, notified in October 2024 (Swarajya, July 2026). In January 2024 a Noida Authority letter to the Stamp Department halted purchase and sale in the proposed villages, with registration of agricultural land needing the Authority's consent (Sakshi Post, January 2024). Two July 2026 reports on acquisition by mutual consent do not mention the halt (Millennium Post, July 2026), so ask the Noida Authority or the District Magistrate's office whether it still applies to a given village.
Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe land: a Scheduled Caste bhumidhar needs the Collector's previous written permission to transfer land to a non-Scheduled Caste buyer (section 98), and a Scheduled Tribe bhumidhar may not transfer to a non-Scheduled Tribe buyer (section 99) (UP Revenue Code 2006). The Allahabad High Court described a transfer without the permission as void in Omwati v District Collector, Pilibhit, November 2022.
NRI & OCI buyers: the Reserve Bank's Master Direction under FEMA 1999 excludes agricultural land, plantation land and a farm house from what NRIs and OCIs may buy or receive as a gift (paragraphs 3.1.1 and 3.1.2). Inheritance is covered separately in paragraphs 3.1.3 and 3.1.4, without that exclusion (Reserve Bank of India Master Direction FED 12/2015-16).
- Revenue Code 2006
- Purchase limit: 5.0586 ha
- DNGIR: 84 villages
- SC land: Collector permission
- NRI agri: barred (FEMA)
- Ceiling Act 1960
Faizabad — district-specific notes
The full Uttar Pradesh legal framework on the state page applies to Ayodhya in full. The notes below are specific to this district and are not repeated from the state page.
⚠ Part of Ayodhya's rural land sits inside an Army firing-range buffer zone. Newslaundry reported in October 2024 that 14 villages at Ayodhya Cantonment covering 13,391 acres were notified in January 2021 under section 9(2) of the Manoeuvres, Field Firing and Artillery Practice Act, 1938, for five years ending in 2025, and that civilian structures cannot be built in the notified area (Newslaundry, October 2024). One village was denotified on 30 May 2024. In September 2024 the Allahabad High Court directed the Ayodhya Development Authority to obtain Army no-objection certificates for construction in 13 villages, and the Army refused a hotel application on 30 January 2025 (Newslaundry, March 2025). We did not find whether the notification was renewed after 2025, so ask in writing whether a parcel's village is or was notified.
⚠ The district has two names in the paper trail. Faizabad district was renamed Ayodhya on 6 November 2018 (Tribune, November 2018), so older khatauni extracts, ICAR and CGWB reports and sale deeds may still say Faizabad. Confirm which tehsil and sub-registrar office covers the village before comparing it with anything else on this page.
⚠ The Ayodhya Development Authority (ADA) Master Plan 2031 divides the development area into 18 zones, with residential use set at 52.56% of land and green and open space at 14.31% (IANS, October 2025). At a review on 28 October 2025 the Chief Minister directed that land be reserved along the Panchkosi and 14 Kosi Parikrama routes. A parcel near either route, the Saryu bank or a green belt may be reserved or restricted, so ask for the master-plan zone and the ADA's written land-use position.
⚠ Conversion runs through section 80 of the UP Revenue Code, 2006: the Sub-Divisional Officer decides within 45 working days and the declaration is treated as made if no decision comes (India Code). A 2026 ordinance, in force from 8 April 2026, treats an approved layout or building permission inside a notified authority area as that declaration (Ordinance 14 of 2026, PRS; first reported by Free Press Journal, March 2026), and a regulatory-news summary says an Amendment Act was notified on 13 August 2026 (TeamLease RegTech). Confirm the Act text and which route applies to your village.
- Army Buffer Zone
- Faizabad (old name)
- ADA Master Plan 2031
- Section 80
- Saryu River
District overview
Faizabad — a pilgrimage city with an airport, a master plan and a farm belt behind it
Ayodhya, known as Faizabad until November 2018, covers 2,522 sq km on the Saryu and had 2,470,996 people at Census 2011, as shown on the district portal. Maharshi Valmiki International Airport was inaugurated on 30 December 2023 (Indian Infrastructure), and the 2031 master plan projects a population of 2.4 million by 2031 (IANS, October 2025). Visitor and pilgrim demand is what separates land near the city from the farm districts around it.
The buyer geography has two layers. The first is pilgrim and visitor demand, which supports hotels, guest houses and plots in and around the city. The second is Lucknow: the Purvanchal Expressway runs from Lucknow through Ayodhya to Ghazipur (UPEIDA). Behind the city the district is Saryu-plain farmland. ICAR's 2013 contingency plan, written for Faizabad, gives a net sown area of 171,016 ha and a cropping intensity of 163%, with rice on 82,200 ha in kharif and wheat on 79,200 ha in rabi (ICAR-CRIDA, December 2013).
We found no sourced per-acre price series for farmland, and listing-site asking prices are not used. The one dated benchmark is the circle-rate revision effective 9 June 2025, the first in eight years, with increases of 30% to 200% (PTI via The Week, June 2025). Read the UP land-rules guide and the Uttar Pradesh state page before shortlisting, and check the Army buffer-zone and master-plan notes above for any parcel near the city.
- Ayodhya
- Rudauli
- Bikapur
- Milkipur
- Saryu River
- Valmiki Airport
- Lucknow
Market & connectivity
What is moving prices in Ayodhya
Reported figures with the source of each named. Listing-site asking prices are not used.
Why there is no farmland price table
Listing-site asking prices for farmland were removed from this page because they cannot be traced to registered deeds. Collect registered sale deeds for the same village and treat any seller's figure as an opening position.
Plots
Plots are priced per square yard and are a different product from farmland. We found no sourced per-square-yard price and give none.
Seller and developer claims
Very high per-acre figures circulate for land around the temple. None could be traced to registered deeds, so none is repeated here.
Circle rates raised in June 2025
PTI reported new Ayodhya circle rates effective 9 June 2025, the first revision in eight years, with increases of 30% to 200% by location and use. Within 10 km of the temple the rise was over 150%, with rates of Rs 26,600 to 27,900 per sq m, up from Rs 6,650 to 6,975 (PTI via The Week, June 2025). Check the rate for your village on IGRS UP.
Airport and expansion plans
The airport's first phase cost roughly Rs 14.5 billion (Indian Infrastructure, January 2024). In March 2025 the Airports Authority was reported to plan a Rs 1,625 crore expansion, to be completed within 28 months and to lift capacity from 0.16 to 6 million passengers a year (Organiser, March 2025). We found no sourced passenger series; visitor volumes move with festivals and flight schedules, so do not price a parcel on footfall that only rises.
Units and records
Revenue records carry area in hectares or square metres. Ask for the khasra number and the recorded area before comparing two offers; stamp duty and registration follow the state page.
Connectivity
How Ayodhya connects — Lucknow first, then the airport and the highways
Ayodhya's buyer base is pilgrims from across India plus Lucknow. Journey times vary with traffic and road works.
🚗 By road
✈️ By air
🚆 By rail
🛣 Purvanchal Expressway and the ring road
The Purvanchal Expressway runs about 340.8 km from Lucknow through Barabanki, Ayodhya, Amethi, Sultanpur, Ambedkar Nagar, Azamgarh and Mau to Ghazipur, with six lanes and structures built for eight (UPEIDA). It opened in November 2021 (Indian Infrastructure, 2021). See our UP land-rules guide for the rules that apply before buying near any road.
Growth catalysts
Upcoming infrastructure & developments
Status labels maintained by the Farmland India research desk. Government-announced timelines — not guaranteed.
Maharshi Valmiki International Airport
Inaugurated on 30 December 2023; the first phase cost roughly Rs 14.5 billion (Indian Infrastructure). A Rs 1,625 crore expansion to 6 million passengers a year was reported in March 2025 (Organiser). No completion date was confirmed.
Purvanchal Expressway
Opened in November 2021: about 340.8 km, six lanes and structures built for eight, linking Lucknow and Ayodhya with Ghazipur (UPEIDA; Indian Infrastructure), at an estimated cost of Rs 224.96 billion.
Ayodhya Master Plan 2031
On 28 October 2025 the Chief Minister reviewed the plan, which IANS reports has 159 approved projects worth Rs 8,594 crore and a projection of 2.4 million people by 2031 and 3.5 million by 2047 (IANS, October 2025). Delivery of individual projects will take years; check which zone a parcel falls in.
Ayodhya–Gonda–Balrampur six-lane highway
Patrika reported on 23 January 2026 that the design map for a roughly 65 km six-lane highway, 8 km of it on the Ayodhya Ring Road and 57 km new through Gonda to Balrampur, had gone to the Union road ministry for approval; about 600 hectares would be acquired (Patrika, January 2026). No cost or construction date was given.
Agriculture & terrain
Soil, water & crops in Faizabad
Ayodhya is flat Saryu-plain country where rice and wheat dominate, with a high cropping intensity and flood and drought contingencies both on record.
🌾 Cropped area
ICAR's district contingency plan (written for Faizabad, December 2013) gives a net sown area of 171,016 ha, a gross cropped area of 262,845 ha and a cropping intensity of 163%. Rice covers about 82,200 ha in kharif and wheat about 79,200 ha in rabi (ICAR-CRIDA). Crop mix by village should come from the district agriculture office.
- Rice
- Wheat
💧 Water and rainfall
The ICAR plan gives normal annual rainfall of 970.8 mm, of which 860.4 mm falls in the south-west monsoon, and sets out contingency measures for flood, waterlogging and drought (ICAR-CRIDA). Down To Earth (30 May 2019) named Faizabad among the high-risk districts for arsenic in groundwater (Down To Earth, May 2019), and the CGWB 2024 assessment lists Ayodhya for arsenic above 10 ppb (CGWB, December 2024). Test borewell water for arsenic, and ask for current CGWB block status and borewell depth.
🌱 Soil and terrain
ICAR reports silty loam soils on about 65% of the area, silty loam of the bhat type on about 30% and alluvial soils on about 5%. The plan's absolute soil areas do not add up to the district area, so we give the shares only (ICAR-CRIDA).
- Silty loam
- Saryu plain
🌾 Mandi price reference
Wholesale prices for Ayodhya-district mandis are published daily on the Agmarknet portal, and rainfall normals sit with IMD; we did not open either for this page. Rice and wheat income is small next to prices near the temple, so price a parcel on location, approvals and use, not on crop yield.
At a glance
Ayodhya: price evidence at a glance
| Belt / locality | Price evidence | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Ayodhya district, circle rates | Raised 30% to 200% from 9 June 2025 | The first revision in eight years (PTI via The Week) |
| Within 10 km of the temple | Rise of over 150%; Rs 26,600 to 27,900 per sq m (was Rs 6,650 to 6,975) | Same report (PTI via The Week) |
| Army buffer-zone villages | 14 villages notified; farm use only, no permanent structure | Newslaundry, October 2024 (link) |
| Ayodhya Development Area | 18 zones; residential 52.56% of land | Master Plan 2031 (IANS) |
| Farmland, per acre | No sourced price series | None found |
| Plots, per sq yd | No sourced price series | None found |
*No per-acre or per-sq-yd price series was found, so none is shown. The rows list the dated circle-rate revision and the planning and Army-zone facts that affect a parcel. Nothing here is a valuation.
Farmland India view
Why investors look at Faizabad
Three reasons this desk includes Ayodhya, with an honest note that the buffer-zone and master-plan status of a parcel matters and price evidence is thin.
A national pilgrimage destination
The airport opened on 30 December 2023 (Indian Infrastructure) and the Ram temple draws pilgrims. That visitor demand does not depend on crop income, and it supports homestay, guest-house and second-home use near the city.
A statutory master plan
The Master Plan 2031 divides the development area into 18 zones with set land-use shares (IANS), so a buyer inside the plan area can ask for a parcel's zone rather than rely on a broker's word.
Lucknow and the expressway within reach
The Purvanchal Expressway links Ayodhya to Lucknow and Ghazipur (UPEIDA), and the farm belt behind the city earns from rice and wheat while it is held.
Confirm Army buffer-zone status, master-plan zone and conversion status directly — these are not certified by Farmland India's review.
STRAIGHT TALK
Risks & challenges in Faizabad
Read these before shortlisting in Ayodhya specifically.
Army buffer-zone land
Fourteen villages were notified as firing-range buffer land in 2021 for five years (Newslaundry). Only farm use is allowed and no permanent structure may be built. Get the village's current status in writing before paying an advance.
No sourced price series
Circulating per-acre and plot figures could not be traced to registered deeds. The one dated benchmark is the June 2025 circle-rate revision. Collect registered deeds from the same village.
Master-plan and parikrama reservations
Land along the Panchkosi and 14 Kosi Parikrama routes is to be reserved, and the plan includes an 84 Kosi Parikrama Marg (IANS). Ask ADA for the zone and any reservation in writing.
Flood and arsenic
The ICAR plan sets out flood and waterlogging contingencies (ICAR-CRIDA), and Faizabad was named among the high-risk districts for arsenic (Down To Earth). Check ground level, local flood history and borewell water quality.
Name and record confusion
Older records and reports use Faizabad. Confirm tehsil, village and sub-registrar office from the khatauni.
Footfall is not guaranteed
Visitor numbers move with festivals and flight schedules, and we found no sourced passenger series. A hospitality plan built on visitor numbers should be stress-tested.
Conversion rules in transition
The 2026 amendment changes how conversion works in notified authority areas (PRS). Confirm what is in force for your village.
Standard UP checks still apply
The purchase cap under section 89(2) of the Revenue Code (5.0586 hectares, about 12.5 acres on our conversion), SC/ST permission and NRI restrictions on the state page apply in full. Check the khatauni and mutation trail.
Who to contact
Local revenue & registration offices
Mutation, land-use declarations and ceiling queries route through the tehsildar and Sub-Divisional Officer of the relevant tehsil; confirm the tehsil first, because older records say Faizabad. Within the Ayodhya Development Authority's area, plan approvals and any Army no-objection requirement go through ADA. Sale-deed registration is handled by the local Sub-Registrar through IGRS UP, and records are on UP Bhulekh; we did not open either portal for this page.
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Guides & research
- Bhu Naksha UP: Check Village Land Map Online (2026 Guide)Wiki · P02 Land Records & Documentation
- Khatauni Nakal UP: Get a Copy Online or at the Tehsil (2026 Guide)Wiki · P02 Land Records & Documentation
- Khasra Khatauni UP: How to Check and Read It Online (2026 Guide)Wiki · P02 Land Records & Documentation
- IGRS UP Encumbrance Certificate: Apply, Track and Download (2026 Guide)Wiki · P02 Land Records & Documentation
- Dakhil Kharij Status UP: Check Mutation Online (2026 Guide)Wiki · P02 Land Records & Documentation
- Circle Rate Uttar Pradesh: Check Land Rates Online (2026 Guide)Wiki · P02 Land Records & Documentation
- Property Tax for Land in Uttar Pradesh: Check and Pay Online (2026 Guide)Wiki · P02 Land Records & Documentation
- Bigha in Uttar Pradesh: District-wise VariationsWiki · P01 Land Measurement Units
COMMON QUESTIONS
Frequently asked questions
Everything buyers, NRIs and investors ask before their first reviewed farmland purchase in Faizabad.
Visit full wiki01 of 04
What does farmland cost around Ayodhya?
We publish no per-acre band, because listing-site asking prices could not be traced to registered deeds and no official or news price series turned up. The one dated benchmark is the circle-rate revision effective 9 June 2025, with increases of 30% to 200% and over 150% within 10 km of the temple (PTI via The Week, June 2025). Check your village's rate on IGRS UP.
02 of 04
Is Faizabad the same district as Ayodhya?
Yes. The Uttar Pradesh government renamed Faizabad district Ayodhya on 6 November 2018 (Tribune, November 2018). Older records, ICAR reports and some deeds still say Faizabad.
03 of 04
Is any land near Ayodhya restricted?
Newslaundry reported in October 2024 that 14 villages covering 13,391 acres were notified as Army buffer-zone land in January 2021 for five years, where civilian structures cannot be built. The Allahabad High Court directed Army no-objection certificates for construction in 13 villages (Newslaundry, March 2025), so ask for a village's current status in writing.
04 of 04
How does Ayodhya connect to Lucknow and the airport?
The Purvanchal Expressway, about 340.8 km and opened in November 2021, runs from Lucknow through Ayodhya to Ghazipur (UPEIDA). Maharshi Valmiki International Airport was inaugurated on 30 December 2023 (Indian Infrastructure) and had flights to six cities in March 2025 (Organiser).
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Sources and references
Law and courts
- Uttar Pradesh Revenue Code 2006, section 80 (non-agricultural use), India Code
- Uttar Pradesh Revenue Code 2006, text hosted by IGRS UP (state-page source)
- Uttar Pradesh Revenue Code (Fourth Amendment) Ordinance, 2026 (Ordinance 14 of 2026), PRS Legislative Research, 23 May 2026
- Manoeuvres, Field Firing and Artillery Practice Act, 1938, section 9(2): as reported by Newslaundry below; the Act text was not opened
Government
- Ayodhya district portal: area, population, headquarters
- District agriculture contingency plan, Faizabad, ICAR-CRIDA, December 2013
- Dynamic Ground Water Resources and Ground Water Quality of Uttar Pradesh, 2024, CGWB, December 2024
- Purvanchal Expressway project history, UPEIDA
News
- Army says its drills are greatly limited due to illegal encroachments in Ayodhya, Newslaundry, 3 Oct 2024
- Months after HC order, Army denies permission for Ayodhya hotel, Newslaundry, 5 Mar 2025
- Ayodhya land prices soar as circle rates hiked up to 200 per cent, PTI via The Week, 9 Jun 2025
- Model of grandeur: CM reviews Ayodhya Master Plan, IANS, 28 Oct 2025
- Faizabad district is Ayodhya now, Tribune, November 2018
- New Ayodhya airport inaugurated, Indian Infrastructure, 3 Jan 2024
- AAI unveils Rs 1,625 crore expansion plan for Ayodhya airport, Organiser, 25 Mar 2025
- New six-lane highway from Gonda and Balrampur to Ayodhya, Patrika, 23 Jan 2026
- High levels of arsenic found in groundwater in UP, Down To Earth, 30 May 2019
- UP Cabinet clears ordinance simplifying land use conversion, Free Press Journal, 23 Mar 2026
- Uttar Pradesh Revenue Code (Amendment) Act, 2026, TeamLease RegTech, August 2026
- Purvanchal Expressway, Indian Infrastructure, 2021
Further reading
- UP Revenue Code 2006 full text, India Code
- ICAR contingency plan for Faizabad (Ayodhya) district
- CGWB Uttar Pradesh groundwater assessment 2024
- Ayodhya Master Plan review, October 2025
- Ayodhya circle-rate revision, June 2025
- State circle-rate revision across districts, March 2025
- Army buffer zone at Ayodhya Cantonment, October 2024
- Purvanchal Expressway, UPEIDA
- Arsenic in Uttar Pradesh groundwater, May 2019
- Ayodhya airport expansion plan, March 2025
Internal guides
- Uttar Pradesh legal framework (ceiling, SC/ST land, NRI rules, stamp duty): see the Uttar Pradesh state page and the Uttar Pradesh agricultural land rules guide
Data-currency note: the district portal figures are the Census 2011 population and the area as shown there. ICAR crop data date from 2013, before the renaming. Circle-rate, master-plan and Army-zone items are as reported up to October 2026. No listing-site prices are used, and this is a general guide, not legal advice. Report inaccuracies to wiki@farmlandindia.com.
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