What A Site Visit Can Tell You That The Paperwork Cannot साइट विजिट आपको वह क्या बता सकती है जो कागज़ी कार्रवाई नहीं बता सकती ## ਸਾਈਟ ਵਿਜ਼ਿਟ ਤੁਹਾਨੂੰ ਕੀ ਦੱਸ ਸਕਦੀ ਹੈ ਜੋ ਕਾਗਜ਼ੀ ਕਾਰਵਾਈ ਨਹੀਂ ਦੱਸ ਸਕਦੀ

A plot pack on WhatsApp can look complete. It has a plot number, a pocket label, a layout extract and a pin on a map. None of that tells you whether the road to the plot is built or where rainwater collects after a storm. A site visit answers those questions. It cannot settle ownership, so the visit should end with a check against the office record.

Cover photo: Biswarup Ganguly, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0, cropped and retouched. Source on Wikimedia Commons.

What the papers show and what the ground shows

Your papers identify a parcel in the authority's system. They carry the plot number, the pocket or sector label, the plot dimensions and a reference to a layout plan.

The ground shows how you actually reach the plot and how the land drains. It also shows what is happening on the neighbouring plots and whether any boundary markers exist. The visit tests whether the plot described on paper can be found on foot and reached by road.

For advice on timing, see our explainer on visiting a Mohali plot in June. The checks below apply whenever you go.

Take the right copies with you

Carry a clear copy of the LOI or allotment letter and the layout plan extract that shows the plot. A cropped screenshot of a map pin is no use for matching boundaries.

If you hold more than one version of the layout, take all of them. Any difference between versions is worth raising at the office later.

Match the plot to the ground

Start from a fixed point you can name on the layout. A main road junction or a built landmark works well. Walk from there towards the plot. Check the identifiers on your document against what you can see: the pocket label, any plot number on a marker, the numbers on neighbouring markers and the shape of the boundary against the layout.

Write down every mismatch. Common ones are a planned road that is still a dirt track and a marked green space that is still farmland. Note it too if the plot number is not where the guide said it would be.

Treat chalk marks and fresh pegs as informal. A boundary counts as demarcated only when the office record says so. If the person showing you the land cannot walk the boundary using the same layout extract you hold, the visit is incomplete.

What to look at while you are there

- Access. Is the last stretch from the main road a built road or a kacha track? Check that the route does not cross someone else's land, and that vehicles can pass each other without leaving the road.
- Drainage. Find the low points around the plot and the access road, and picture where water would stand after heavy rain. You can judge visible slopes without instruments.
- Neighbouring use. Look at what is next door: finished houses, construction under way, empty plots or informal use. This shapes daily life on the plot whatever the layout labels say about future facilities.
- Markers. Note whether there are proper plot markers or only someone pointing at a field. Pointing is common, and it carries no weight as demarcation.
- Claims you cannot see. If the seller or guide describes possession or a facility that is not visible, note it for the office.

Photograph the approach road and each marker you find, with the layout page in the frame where possible. Notes made on the day are what you will rely on when you reread the pack from abroad.

What to ask people nearby

Keep the questions friendly. Neighbours and workers on site often know the practical history of a stretch.

- Has anyone seen official demarcation here, or only informal pointing?
- How do houses on this stretch get water and power at present?
- Who claims the strip between this plot and the next one, or between the plot and the track?
- Has the access road been blocked or diverted recently?
- Do people live nearby all year, or does the pocket stay empty?

Treat the answers as leads to check. A neighbour may be mistaken or may have an interest in the plot.

Take your notes to the office

Only GMADA or the scheme office that holds the record can confirm that the plot you walked is the plot on your papers. Take the same copies you carried on site and ask:

- Does the plot number match the current layout or scheme plan?
- Is demarcation or possession for this plot on record, and which document shows it?
- Has the layout been revised since the LOI or allotment letter was issued?
- If the plot on the ground and the plot on the record differ, how is that resolved?

If the office cannot match the plot number to a current plan, a confident walkaround does not fill that gap.

What a visit cannot prove

A careful walk can raise or lower your confidence in the location and access. On its own it cannot prove:

- that the title is clear and the chain of transfers is complete
- that dues and conditions attached to the allotment are settled
- that the paper you hold is at the stage the seller says it is
- that the authority has formally handed over possession
- that services will arrive by any promised date

If you are unsure which stage your paper is at, our explainer on the papers NRIs mix up sets out the difference.

What you should leave with

After the walk and the office check, you should know:

- whether the plot on paper can be found on the ground without anyone inventing markers
- whether the access and drainage suit how you plan to use the plot
- whether the office confirms the plot against the current layout
- what demarcation or possession status the record shows

A guided walk and a map pin are not enough to establish ownership.

Related reading

- When to visit a Mohali plot before buying: the case for June
- The papers NRIs mix up, from LOI to sale deed
- GMADA notices
- GMADA and Aerotropolis hub

Sources

- Greater Mohali Area Development Authority: scheme and layout plan materials on the GMADA official website

This is general guidance on site visits and should not be read as legal advice. Every transaction turns on its own facts.