Before you buy

Draft TP vs sanctioned TP scheme

A scheme number without its stage tells you almost nothing. The stage is where the risk lives.

7 min read · Reviewed September 2026

What is the difference between a draft and sanctioned TP scheme?

A town planning scheme passes through draft, preliminary, final and sanctioned stages. At draft stage the layout is proposed and plot boundaries can still shift. By preliminary stage final plot numbers are allotted. At sanctioned stage boundaries are fixed and enforceable. Buying at draft stage carries real boundary risk — the plot you are shown may not be the plot you receive.

What a TP scheme does

Under the Gujarat Town Planning and Urban Development Act, a scheme pools the original agricultural survey numbers in an area, carves out land for roads, gardens, utilities and social infrastructure, and returns to each original owner a smaller but serviced plot — the final plot, or FP.

The land surrendered in that process is the deduction, which in Dholera schemes has typically run around 40 to 50 per cent. That is normal for greenfield planning: it is what pays for the infrastructure that makes the remaining land worth more per square yard than the whole was before.

The four stages

Draft: the layout is proposed. Boundaries are indicative and can change.

Preliminary: final plot numbers are allotted, and the shape of the outcome becomes visible.

Final: the scheme is finalised following objections and adjudication.

Sanctioned: boundaries are fixed and enforceable.

Why this changes the price

A parcel in a sanctioned scheme has a known, fixed final plot. A parcel in a draft scheme has an expected one. That difference is real risk and should be reflected in what you pay.

If two quotes look similar and one is in a sanctioned scheme while the other is at draft stage, they are not comparable offers.

Dholera specifically

Dholera SIR is delivered through sixteen schemes, from TP 1-A-1 through TP 6-A, plus the Lothal Draft TP. They are not all at the same stage.

Note also that villages span schemes. Zankhi appears in both TP4 and TP6; Sodhi in TP3 and TP5; Bavaliyari across TP2, TP5 and TP6. Two plots in the same village can sit in different schemes at different stages with a substantial price gap between them.

All sixteen sanctioned scheme plans are published on this site, free, for exactly this reason.

Warning signs

  • A scheme number quoted without its stage
  • "It will be sanctioned soon" offered in place of a document
  • A village name given as though it identifies a scheme

Your checklist

  • Ask for the scheme number AND its current stage in writing
  • Ask for the final plot number, not just the survey number
  • Cross-check the FP allotment against the sanctioned scheme record
  • Confirm which scheme the specific parcel falls in — not just the village
  • Price draft-stage boundary risk into your offer
  • Review the scheme plan yourself before committing

Verify it yourself

Gujarat land records are public at anyror.gujarat.gov.in. Everything on this page is something you can check without our help — and we would rather you did. This is general information, not advice on a specific transaction; have your own advocate review any documents before you sign.
Free download

Get the 21-point checklist

Everything to verify before you pay for land in Dholera. Free, no obligation, and useful whether or not you ever contact us.

No spam and no broadcast list. We may follow up once about the checklist, and you can tell us to stop at any time.

Want a second opinion on a specific parcel?

Send the survey number and whatever documents you hold — including for land we are not selling. We will tell you what we see.