A plot has no walls to inspect and no finishes to argue about, which is exactly why people underestimate it. Everything that can go wrong with land goes wrong on paper, or underground, and both are invisible on a site visit.
First, is the land diverted? Agricultural land in Chhattisgarh has to be formally converted to residential use before anyone may build a house on it. Ask to see the diversion order. A plot sold as residential without one is a plot you cannot legally build on yet, whatever anybody tells you about how easy the conversion will be.
Second, is the layout sanctioned by the local authority, and does the plot you are buying appear on the sanctioned layout? Plot numbers move. Compare the sanctioned drawing against the plan you were shown.
Third, who holds the title, and for how long? Ask for the chain of title going back at least thirty years and for an encumbrance certificate. If the land was ever ancestral or joint family property, ask who signed the release.
Fourth, what is actually in the ground? Roads, covered drainage, water supply, an electrical transformer and underground cable are expensive, and a developer who has not laid them before selling may never lay them. On a serviced plot you are buying finished infrastructure; on an unserviced one you are buying a promise and a share of the bill.
Fifth, how wide is the road in front of the plot, and is it in the sanctioned layout as a road? The width of the approach road determines how much you are allowed to build, and a road that exists only as a dirt track between two plots can disappear.
Sixth, where does the water come from? A bore well with a common sump is normal in a township; no answer at all is not.
Seventh, what are the setbacks and the permitted height, and will the house you have in mind actually fit inside them? Work this out before you buy, not after you have paid an architect.
Eighth, is the project RERA registered, and does the registration cover the phase you are buying in? Phases are registered separately.
Ninth, and least technical: go and stand on the plot at the hottest hour of the day. Notice where the sun comes from, where the water would run in a heavy monsoon, and what is on the other side of the boundary wall. You cannot change any of it later.
Our own plotted developments, Soham in Mahmara, Durg and Rishabh MidTown on the Rajnandgaon road, publish their RERA numbers and layout approvals on request. Rishabh Vihar, in Durg's Rishabh Nagar, is our smaller, serviced option.