Kerala Digital Resurvey (Ente Bhoomi)
Discrepancies, objections and record correction
When the resurvey extent, the deed and the thandaper do not agree, nothing else — sale, conversion, building permit, partition — moves. We find the error, file the objection and get the record fixed.
Kerala is re-measuring every parcel under the Ente Bhoomi digital resurvey; 334 of 529 first-phase villages are already notified and discrepancies between the new record and the old village records are common — one field study found them in about 40% of parcels. Check your parcel on the Ente Bhoomi portal as soon as your village is published, object to the Survey Officer while the record is open, appeal within one month of an adverse decision (Kerala Survey and Boundaries Act, Section 12), and remember the record becomes conclusive one year after the final notification. J Group compares deed, FMB, thandaper and the new sketch, files the objection and follows it to a corrected thandaper.
Reviewed 19 September 2026 by J Group Consultancy, Ernakulam. Rules and timelines change by government order — confirm the current position with us before acting.
Why the resurvey is turning up in every land file
The last survey of most Kerala villages was done with chains and theodolites between the 1960s and 1980s. The digital resurvey re-measures every parcel with satellite-positioning rovers and drones, and issues a new survey number, sketch and extent in ares. Where the old boundary stones, the deed description and the ground reality disagree — which is most of rural Kerala — the new record follows the ground, not the deed.
The result is three kinds of file: owners whose extent has gone down (a building or a well is now partly on a neighbour’s parcel, or the deed’s 25 cents has become 23), owners whose extent has gone up (land they cannot legally sell or tax), and sub-divisions that no longer match the deed at all. All three block land conversion, building permits, partition and sale until they are corrected, and the window to correct them cheaply is short.
How to check your parcel after the resurvey
- 01
Find out whether your village is notified
The Survey Department publishes the villages where the resurvey is complete (Section 9(2) notification) and those in progress. Notified villages have a new survey number for every parcel; a mapping from the old number is available at the Village Office and on the portal.
- 02
Open your parcel on the Ente Bhoomi portal
Log in with your mobile number, select district, taluk and village, and search by the new (or old) survey number. Note the extent in ares, the sketch and the recorded holder. Download the sketch.
- 03
Pull the old records
e-Rekha gives the old FMB sketch and the settlement register; the Village Office issues the thandaper extract and the basic-tax receipt. Your deed gives the extent in cents and the boundaries by neighbour.
- 04
Compare all four
Convert the deed extent to ares (cents × 0.4047) and compare with the resurvey extent; overlay the old and new sketches; walk the boundary with the neighbours. A difference of a few square metres is normal; a difference of a full cent or a shifted sub-division line is an error to object to.
- 05
Object, then appeal if needed
File a written objection with the Survey Officer while the village record is open (the notification states the period), attend the survey adalat or hearing with the records, and if the decision is adverse appeal to the prescribed authority within one month of the notice. After the final notification the only route is a civil suit within one year.
Discrepancies we see most often
Extent reduced
Deed says 25 cents, resurvey says 9.6 ares (23.7 cents). Usually a boundary drawn to the current fence rather than the deed line, or the road margin taken off. Matters because 25 cents is the Section 27A fee-free limit and 50 cents the Form 6 limit.
Extent increased
The resurvey has included puramboke, a thodu margin or a neighbour’s strip. You cannot register or tax the excess; it must be assigned, settled or corrected.
Sub-division mismatch
A partitioned family plot recorded as one parcel, or the sub-division lines placed differently from the partition deed — every heir’s thandaper is then wrong.
Building over the line
A compound wall, well or part of a house now sits on the neighbour’s parcel. This surfaces at the building-permit or sale stage, years later, unless fixed now.
Ares versus cents
Not an error at all — the record is in ares (100 m²) and the deed in cents (40.47 m²). 10.12 ares is 25 cents. Many objections are filed over this and wasted. Use /tools/ares-to-cent.
Wrong holder
The resurvey record shows the previous owner or a deceased parent because mutation (pokkuvaravu) was never done. Fix the mutation first; the resurvey record follows the thandaper.
The clock under the Kerala Survey and Boundaries Act, 1961
| Stage | What happens | Your window |
|---|---|---|
| Village record published | Draft resurvey record and sketches open for objections; survey adalats held | The period stated in the notice — act immediately |
| Survey Officer decision (ss. 9–10) | Undisputed boundaries recorded; disputed ones decided with reasons and notice to the parties | — |
| Appeal (ss. 11–12) | To the prescribed appellate authority | One month from service of the notice (extendable only for good cause, and never after the final notification) |
| Final notification (s. 13) | Record becomes conclusive proof of the boundaries | — |
| Civil suit (s. 14) | Suit to set aside or modify the determination, joining everyone interested in the boundary | One year from the Section 13 notification |
A Settlement Act to deal with resurvey discrepancies systematically has been announced and is pending; until it is in force, the 1961 Act timelines above apply. We track the notifications for our clients’ villages.
Resurvey correction, start to finish
- Record comparison. Deed, prior deeds, old FMB (e-Rekha), thandaper, tax receipt and the new Ente Bhoomi sketch and extent — reconciled in one report, in ares and cents.
- Ground check. Boundary walk with a licensed surveyor where needed, photographs, neighbour statements.
- Objection and hearing. Drafting and filing the objection, attending the survey adalat or the Survey Officer’s hearing with the records.
- Appeal. Appeal to the prescribed authority within the one-month window; coordination with your advocate if a civil suit becomes necessary.
- Record update. Following the corrected record through to the thandaper, basic-tax receipt, e-BTR and any pending Form 6 / Form 7 or building-permit file.
- For NRIs. Everything above through a Power of Attorney, with status updates on WhatsApp and email. See /services/nri-services.
Questions about the digital resurvey
What is the Kerala digital resurvey (Ente Bhoomi)?
A state-wide re-measurement of every land parcel with GNSS/RTK rovers, total stations, drones and LiDAR, replacing survey records that date from the 1960s–80s. Each village is surveyed, the draft record is published for objections, and a Section 9(2) notification is issued when the village is complete. As of mid-2026 about 334 of the 529 villages in the first phases are notified; the rest are in progress.
My extent came down after the resurvey. What can I do?
First get the new sketch and extent from the Ente Bhoomi portal and compare them with your deed, the old FMB and the thandaper. If the reduction is a measurement or boundary error, file an objection with the Survey Officer while the village record is open, and if the decision goes against you, appeal to the prescribed authority within one month of the notice (Kerala Survey and Boundaries Act, Section 12). After the final notification you have one year to file a civil suit; after that the record is conclusive.
The resurvey gave me more land than my deed. Is that a problem?
Yes, in a different way. You cannot sell, mortgage or pay tax on land that is not in your deed, and the excess may be government puramboke or a neighbour’s land. The options are a boundary settlement with the neighbour, an application for assignment if it is government land, or a correction of the resurvey record — which one depends on the old records, so get them out before doing anything.
How do I check my land in the Ente Bhoomi portal?
Log in with your mobile number, choose the district, taluk and village, and search by the resurvey block and survey number (the old survey number is mapped to the new one in the notified villages). The parcel page shows the digital sketch, area in ares and the recorded holder. e-Rekha gives the old FMB and settlement records, and Bhunaksha the map view; we pull all three when we compare.
Does the resurvey change my thandaper or land tax?
The thandaper and the basic-tax receipt are re-generated from the resurvey record in the notified villages, so a changed extent flows into your tax receipt, your e-BTR and every certificate (possession, location) the Village Office issues from then on. That is why an unchallenged reduction quietly becomes permanent.
Can NRIs file resurvey objections from abroad?
Yes, through a representative holding a Power of Attorney, and most of the work — pulling records, checking the sketch, drafting the objection — needs no personal presence. Site demarcation and survey adalats do need someone on the ground; we attend for clients in the Gulf, the UK and North America and report with photographs.
Does your resurvey sketch match your deed?
Send us the survey number and a photo of the deed’s first page. We pull the new sketch and the old records and tell you within a week whether there is a discrepancy, what it costs you, and what to file.