Farmland Near Jewar Airport: Can You Build a Farmhouse? Land Use, Holding Limits and Who Can Buy

Farmland is the cheapest way into the Yamuna Expressway belt, and the most misunderstood. Buyers are often told they can put up a farmhouse, a boundary and a gate as soon as the registry is done. Uttar Pradesh law does not work that way, and inside the YEIDA notified area, a second set of rules applies on top of the revenue law.

This guide sets out what the law says, section by section, so you can ask the right questions before you buy.

Changing land use: Section 80

Section 80 of the Uttar Pradesh Revenue Code, 2006 (as substituted in 2019) is the route by which agricultural land is declared for non-agricultural use. In outline:

• Who applies. A bhumidhar with transferable rights applies to the Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO). Where land is held jointly, all co-bhumidhars must apply together, or the shares must first be divided.
• Two kinds of declaration. Section 80(1) covers land already being used for industrial, commercial or residential purposes. Section 80(2) covers a proposed use; the land remains agricultural, but the declaration lapses if the activity does not begin within five years. It can be converted to a full declaration within that period.
• Timeline. The SDO is to decide within 45 working days and give written reasons for a refusal.
• Refusal grounds. No declaration can be made if the proposed use is contrary to the master plan, or would be a public nuisance or harmful to public order, health or safety.
• Fee. The Revenue Code Rules, 2016 set the fee at 1% of the circle rate, or as fixed by the state from time to time; the state’s Nivesh Mitra process sheet states 2%. No fee is payable where the land is for the applicant’s own residence. Confirm the current fee with the tehsil before budgeting.

Once a declaration is made, the transfer restrictions that apply to agricultural land stop applying to that parcel, and it is exempt from land revenue. Applications can be filed on the state’s revenue court portal, vaad.up.nic.in (RCCMS); industrial and commercial applications go through the Nivesh Mitra single window.

Inside the YEIDA notified area

This is the part most buyers miss. Section 80(8) makes the prior permission of the development authority mandatory for land in its notified area. YEIDA operates under the Uttar Pradesh Industrial Area Development Act, 1976, under which no one may erect or occupy a building in the notified area in contravention of its building regulations.

The courts have upheld YEIDA’s powers here. In Amrita Bhati v. State of U.P. (Allahabad High Court, 3 April 2023), a demolition order against a house built in Dankaur without YEIDA’s prior approval was upheld and the petition dismissed.

A 2026 change. The UP Revenue Code (Amendment) Ordinance, 2026, notified on 8 April 2026, provides that in development and industrial-development authority areas, a building, development or layout approval granted by the authority is deemed to be a declaration under Section 80(2), with the revenue records to be updated within 15 days and no separate fee. In practice, inside the YEIDA area the Authority’s approval is the gateway. An ordinance must be replaced by an Act to remain in force, so check its current status before relying on it.

Not sure whether a village falls in the notified area? Check our YEIDA notified village list.

Can you build a farmhouse?

Not simply by owning farmland. YEIDA’s Industrial Development Area Building Regulations, 2010 contain specific provisions for a farmhouse in the agricultural use zone. The key parameters in those regulations are:

Two cautions. First, these are the 2010 regulations: check with YEIDA whether they have been revised and whether the zone your parcel falls in under the current master plan permits a farmhouse. Second, a parcel smaller than a hectare does not meet the minimum under these rules. A seller offering a “farmhouse plot” of a few hundred square yards in the notified area should be able to show you the approval that makes it buildable.

How much farmland can you buy? Section 89

Under Section 89(2) of the Revenue Code, no person may buy or accept as a gift land from a bhumidhar with transferable rights if, as a result, their holding in Uttar Pradesh (counted together with their family, for an individual), would exceed 5.0586 hectares (12.5 acres).

Larger purchases by companies, firms, LLPs, trusts, societies and educational or charitable institutions can be approved where the purchase is in the public interest and will generate non-agricultural economic activity and employment. Approval sits with the Collector up to 20.2344 hectares, the Commissioner up to 40.4688 hectares, and the state government above that. If the project is not set up within five years (extendable once by up to three), the excess land vests in the state.

Who cannot buy, and what cannot be bought

• NRIs and OCIs. Under India’s foreign-exchange rules, NRIs and OCIs have general permission to buy immovable property in India other than agricultural land, a farmhouse or plantation property. Farmland is outside that permission.
• Land held by a Scheduled Caste bhumidhar. Under Section 98, it cannot be sold, gifted, mortgaged or leased to a person who is not from a Scheduled Caste without the Collector’s prior written permission, which is granted only on specified grounds.
• Public-utility land. Under Section 77, no one can acquire rights in land such as a pond, tank or lake, pasture, threshing floor, manure pits, burial or cremation ground, or land held for a public purpose. In 2026 the Supreme Court held pattas granted on public-utility land after an improper re-categorisation to be void from the start.
• Transfers that break the rules. Under Sections 104 and 105, a transfer that contravenes the Code is void, and the land can vest in the state.

The classification of each khasra is shown in the revenue records. Our guide to checking khatauni on UP Bhulekh shows how to look it up, and the due-diligence checklist covers the rest of the paperwork.

Common questions

Please verify before you commit. Laws, fees and regulations change, and an ordinance or notification may have been replaced since this was written. Always check the current position with the tehsil, YEIDA or your legal adviser before making a purchase decision.

Looking at farmland on the Yamuna belt? Browse agricultural land by area or talk to our team. We verify records before you commit.