Before 1970s, people in Bihar did not give much thought about building a house in urban areas. Most of the people of Bihar lived in villages before that as urbanization was yet to come. Not more than 20 per cent of the population was living in town during that time. In the later years, people started giving a thought to investing a part of their saving in buying land in towns. A boom came between 1974 to 1985. People started migrating from villages and purchasing land in urban areas where they later got their houses constructed. After 1985, there was a huge rush to buy land and purchase flats. But the graph of progress of real estate went down after 1995 as there was no development in Bihar and people were migrating from here. But the trend recovered after some years in 2003 and people again began investing in this area.

Factors to be kept in mind when going for purchasing land:
The person interested in purchasing land should first verify the following documents:-
a)       Sale Deed
b)       Mutation
c)       Mutation order sheet

After the above documents have been verified, the interested person should visit the circle office and verify if the landowner's name is mentioned in the Register II (Record of land tax revenue) or not. Later the person should go to the collectorate and verify in Volume IV which is the master volume for land. If you do not find any problem, you can go ahead and demand a 'No Objection Certificate' from the registrar office. Then you can go for an agreement with the land owner. If there is an agent involved, you must also have an agreement with him to confirm the land. Finally, you can apply for getting permission to acquire the land from the government. You can then take registry from the land owner.

After following the above process, you must go to the circle office and get your name recorded in Register II and take a mutation order in your name. If you apply for a loan, the said documents will be necessary for getting a housing loan. After finishing with the paper work, you must make a boundary wall on the plot for exact measurement.

You may then apply to the Municipal Corporation to pass the map for further work like construction, electricity connection, water supply etc. Always consult a good engineer for getting your house constructed.

"A layman can construct a house.
But a layman cannot construct a designer house."

    By Vishnu Kumar