Land Measurement Units in India
Bigha, Kanal, Marla, Nali, Killa, Gaj — the same word can mean three different areas depending on the district you're standing in. This pillar maps every traditional unit across the North India corridor, with exact square-feet values cross-checked against state revenue records.
Quick land unit converter
Regional bigha variants differ — always match the variant to the district shown on the revenue record. Full-featured converter with all 30+ units: open the Land Unit Converter →
How big is each unit, really?
Every bar is drawn to true proportion against 1 acre (43,560 sq ft). This is why a "10 bigha" parcel in Himachal is a fraction of a "10 bigha" parcel in Jaipur.
How these units are actually built
Every traditional unit is stacked from a single stride-length measure — the karam. Understand the chain once and every jamabandi entry becomes readable.
| Step | Unit | Definition | Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Karam | The base pace — a length, not an area | 5.5 ft (linear) |
| 2 | Sarsahi | 1 karam × 1 karam | 30.25 ft² |
| 3 | Marla | 9 sarsahi (3 × 3 karam) | 272.25 ft² |
| 4 | Kanal | 20 marla | 5,445 ft² |
| 5 | Killa / Ghumaon | 8 kanal | 43,560 ft² = 1 acre |
| 6 | Murabba | 25 killa — the "square" of canal-colony Punjab | 25 acres |
The chain that drew North India's fields
The acre is one furlong by one chain — 660 ft × 66 ft — measured with Gunter's 66-foot survey chain, which colonial settlement officers carried across Punjab and the United Provinces. Where older Mughal-era chains survived, they left different bighas behind: the Shahjahani jarib gives today's pucca bigha (27,225 sq ft), the shorter Gantari jarib the kachcha bigha. Two chains, two bighas — sometimes in the same district.
The jarib & Gunter's chain — full history →State-by-state measurement guides
Six states, six different systems. Each guide decodes the units used on that state's revenue portal, with district-level variations.
Uttar Pradesh
Bhulekh UP1 pucca bigha = 20 biswa = 27,225 sq ft. Kachcha bigha is exactly a quarter of that — and both appear on Bhulekh without a label. Buying here? Read the UP agricultural land rules and how to pull a Khasra–Khatauni.
Haryana
JamabandiRecords run in kanal–marla; deals talk in killa. 8 kanal = 1 killa = 1 acre. 2 bigha = 1 killa. Pair with the Haryana buying guide and Jamabandi / Fard explainer.
Rajasthan
Apna KathaTwo bighas in one state. Jaipur–Bikaner belt uses pucca (27,225 sq ft); Kota–Udaipur belt uses kachcha (17,424 sq ft). Confirm the jarib before you sign anything — our Rajasthan buying guide shows how.
Punjab
PLRS25 killa = 1 murabba — the unit large farm deals are quoted in. Same kanal–marla arithmetic as Haryana. See who can buy in Punjab.
Uttarakhand
Bhulekh UKHills and plains don't agree. Hill districts (Nainital, Almora) measure in nali–mutthi; plains districts use bigha. 1 nali = 16 mutthi = 2,160 sq ft. Outsiders: read Uttarakhand Bhu Kanoon before shortlisting.
Himachal Pradesh
HimBhoomiThe smallest bigha in the corridor: 8,712 sq ft, so 5 bigha ≈ 1 acre. Orchard listings quoted in bigha look bigger than they are. Non-agriculturists: Section 118 rules apply.
Records speak one language, deals speak another
Revenue records run in the settlement units — kanal–marla in Punjab and Haryana, bigha–biswa–biswansi in UP and Rajasthan, and increasingly hectares on newly digitized khataunis. Brokers and sellers quote in killa, acre and gaj. Every conversion between the two languages is a place where a parcel can quietly shrink. Convert the record, not the pitch — then verify on the ground before token money.
How to read the record itself →One district, two bighas
In parts of the corridor — Gautam Buddha Nagar included — the same word "bigha" denotes two different areas within a single district, depending on which historical jarib (survey chain) the village was settled under. Buyers who assume the larger variant routinely overpay per usable square foot. Our research maps every split we've found, tehsil by tehsil.
Read the full research: India's hidden measurement splits →Unit explainers
8 guidesConversion guides
12 guidesMaster conversion table — corridor units
| Unit | Where used | Sq Yards | Sq Feet | Per Acre |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Killa / Acre | Punjab · Haryana | 4,840 | 43,560 | 1 |
| Bigha (Pucca) | UP · Upper Rajasthan | 3,025 | 27,225 | 1.6 |
| Bigha (Punjab/Haryana) | Punjab · Haryana | 2,420 | 21,780 | 2 |
| Bigha (UK plains / Raj Kachcha) | Uttarakhand plains · S. Rajasthan | 1,936 | 17,424 | 2.5 |
| Bigha (Himachal) | Himachal Pradesh | 968 | 8,712 | 5 |
| Bigha (Kachcha) | UP · UK hills | 756.25 | 6,806 | 6.4 |
| Kanal | Punjab · Haryana · HP · J&K | 605 | 5,445 | 8 |
| Nali | Uttarakhand hills | 240 | 2,160 | ≈20.2 |
| Biswa (Pucca) | 1/20 of pucca bigha | 151.25 | 1,361 | 32 |
| Marla | 1/20 of kanal | 30.25 | 272.25 | 160 |
| Ghumaon | J&K · parts of HP & Punjab | 4,840 | 43,560 | 1 |
| Nali sub-unit: Mutthi | Uttarakhand hills (1/16 nali) | 15 | 135 | ≈323 |
| Biswansi | UP (1/20 biswa) | 7.56 | 68 | 640 |
| Sarsahi | Punjab · Haryana (1 karam²) | 3.36 | 30.25 | 1,440 |
| Gaj / Sq Yard | Delhi NCR plots | 1 | 9 | 4,840 |
| Hectare | Official records (metric) | 11,960 | 107,639 | 0.405 |
Deep research
5 guides| Where | The trap | Gap | Verify via |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gautam Buddha Nagar, UP | Pucca vs kachcha bigha in one district | 27,225 vs 6,806 ft² | Bhulekh UP ↗ |
| Jaipur vs Kota belt, Rajasthan | Shahjahani vs Gantari jarib bigha | 27,225 vs 17,424 ft² | Apna Khata ↗ |
| Hills vs plains, Uttarakhand | Nali–mutthi vs bigha systems | 2,160 ft² nali vs 17,424 ft² bigha | Bhulekh UK ↗ |
| Himachal orchards | Smallest bigha in the corridor | 8,712 ft² — 5 per acre | HimBhoomi ↗ |
Official government sources
Unit values on this page are the standard settlement figures published by these portals and district settlement reports. Where districts deviate, the deviation is documented in the linked state guides.
Frequently asked
quick answersWhy does a bigha vary so much between states?
Because it was never a standardized imperial unit — each princely state and settlement survey defined it from its own jarib (chain length). British settlement officers standardized some regions to Gunter's chain (giving the acre-linked values) while older Mughal-era chains survived elsewhere. The result: at least six live bigha values across the corridor today. Full state-wise breakdown →
What unit are official land records kept in?
Depends on the state and the survey vintage: kanal–marla in Punjab and Haryana, bigha–biswa–biswansi in UP and Rajasthan, nali–mutthi in the Uttarakhand hills — and many freshly digitized records now show hectares alongside or instead of traditional units. Always convert from what the record says, not what the seller quotes. How to read the record →
How do I verify the actual area before buying?
Three layers: match the khasra/jamabandi area against the sale agreement; get the parcel physically measured (demarcation/nishandehi through the revenue office, or a licensed surveyor with total station); and confirm which unit variant your district uses on the state portal. Area mismatch is one of the most common disputes we see in review. The 12-step checklist →
Bigha, acre, hectare — which should I think in?
Think in square feet or acres for comparison, because they never change; use the local unit only for reading records and talking to sellers. 1 acre = 43,560 sq ft; 1 hectare = 2.471 acres = 107,639 sq ft. Everything else on this page maps back to those two. Use the converter →
Bigha, Biswa, Kanal — aksar poochhe jaane waale sawaal
1 bigha mein kitna hota hai UP mein?
UP mein 1 pucca bigha = 20 biswa = 27,225 sq ft ≈ 0.625 acre. Kachcha bigha uska chauthai — 6,806 sq ft — hota hai. Bhulekh UP par area bigha–biswa mein likha hota hai; pucca ya kachcha ka anumaan district se lagaayein. Poora UP guide padhein →
Haryana mein 1 killa kitna hota hai?
1 killa = 8 kanal = 160 marla = 43,560 sq ft = 1 acre. Jamabandi records kanal–marla mein hote hain, lekin sauda killa mein hota hai. 2 bigha = 1 killa. Haryana guide padhein →
Rajasthan mein pucca aur kachcha bigha mein kya fark hai?
Pucca bigha (Shahjahani jarib) — Jaipur, Bikaner, Jodhpur belt — 27,225 sq ft. Kachcha bigha (Gantari jarib) — Kota, Udaipur, Ajmer belt — 17,424 sq ft. Zameen kharidne se pehle district ka jarib confirm karein. Rajasthan guide padhein →
1 acre mein kitne bigha hote hain?
State par nirbhar karta hai: UP (pucca) mein 1.6 bigha, Punjab–Haryana mein 2 bigha, Uttarakhand plains mein 2.5 bigha, aur Himachal mein poore 5 bigha = 1 acre. Isi liye alag states ke rate seedha compare nahin hote. Upar converter use karein →
Uttarakhand mein nali kya hoti hai?
Nali Uttarakhand ke pahaadi districts (Nainital, Almora, Pauri) ki unit hai: 1 nali = 16 mutthi = 2,160 sq ft, yaani lagbhag 20 nali = 1 acre. Plains (Udham Singh Nagar, Haridwar) mein bigha chalti hai. Uttarakhand guide padhein →