Depending upon the State, various terms are being used across the nation to denote the area of a landed property. In order to better understand the offer of a seller, the terms as mentioned in the land documents, and to calculate the value of land, it is always advised to have an idea of the common land measurement units used in India.
Hectares, acres, square meters, and square yards (Gaj) are some of the common land measurement units used across India. While Bigha and Marla are commonly used in the North, terms such as Cent, Guntha, and Ground belong to the South. Depending upon the names of the units, their sizes also vary from State to State.
List of some of the common land measurement units:
Unit of Area | Conversion Unit |
| 1 Square Feet (sq ft) | 144 sq in (1 feet is 12 inches) |
| 1 Square Centimeters | 0.00107639 sq ft |
| 1 Square Inch | 0.0069444 sq ft |
| 1 Square Kilometer (sq km) | 247.1 acres |
| 1 Square Meter (sq m) | 10.76391042 sq ft |
| 1 Square Mile | 640 acres or 259 hectares |
| 1 Square Yard (sq yd) | 9 sq ft |
| 1 Acre | 4840 sq yd or 100.04 cents (standard unit to measure land) |
| 1 Hectare | 10000 sq m or 2.49 acres approximately |
What is the difference between Square Metre (sq m) and Hectare?
A square metre is defined as the area that is enclosed by a square, with sides measuring 1 metre. One sq m is equal to 10.76 sq ft, and one acre is equal to 4,047 sq m. While residential plots are generally measured in sq ft, agricultural land is measured in acres.
Hectare, on the other hand, is used for land sale, planning, and agriculture. One hectare is equal to 10,000 sq m.
Finding the area of your property
A land is bifurcated into residential plots after making the necessary provision for roads, parks, schools, hospitals, markets, and other amenities. The number and size of the plot can be derived from the layout sketch. In case of a resale property, you can find the details of the property, including its area in the Sale Deed.
In case of a residential property, the area is usually given in the form of Square Feet (sq ft). However, in the case of agricultural lands, the property area is mentioned in terms of Acres or Hectares. In order to measure the land size, you need to multiply the length and the width of the available land.
Land measurement units used in North India:
| Units | States used in | Conversion |
| 1 Bigha-Pucca | Bihar and parts of UP, Punjab, and Haryana | 3025 sq yd, 1 Pucca-Bigha=165 ft*165 ft |
| 1 Bigha | Parts of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand | 968 sq yd |
| Bigha- Kachha (Kachha Bigha is one-third of Pucca Bigha.) | Some parts of Punjab, Haryana, UP | 1008.33 sq yd |
| 1 Biswa – Pucca | Upper parts of UP, Punjab, Haryana | 151.25 sq yd |
| 1 Biswa | Some parts of HP, Uttarakhand | 48.4 sq yd |
| 1 Biswa (Kaccha) (1/20 of Bigha Kaccha) | Lower parts of Punjab, Haryana, UP | 50.417 sq yd |
| 1 Biswansi | UP, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand | 1/20 Biswa. 1 Biswa has 20 Biswansis |
| 1 Killa | Parts of Haryana and Punjab | 4840 sq yd (An Acre is also known as Killa) |
| 1 Ghumaon | Some parts of Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab | 4840 sq yd |
| 1 Kanal | Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir | 5445 sq ft. 8 Kanals is 1 Acre |
Land measurement units used in South India:
| Units | States used in | Conversion |
| 1 Ankanam | Parts of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka | 72 sqft, 1Acre=605 Ankanams |
| 1 Cent | Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka | 435.6 sq ft |
| 1 Ground | Parts of Tamil Nadu | 2400 sq ft |
| 1 Guntha | Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka | 1089 sq ft |
| 1 Kuncham | Andhra Pradesh | 484 sq yd, 1 Kuncham=10 cents |
In addition to Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, people of Maharashtra also use the term ‘Guntha’ frequently.
Land measurement units used in East India:
| Units | States used in | Conversion |
| 1 Chatak | West Bengal | 180 sq ft |
| 1 Decimal | West Bengal | 48.4 sq yd, 1Acre=100 decimals |
| 1 Dhur | Bihar and Jharkhand | 68.0625 sq ft |
| 1 Dhur | Tripura | 3.6 sq ft |
| 1 Kattha | Assam | 2880 sq ft, 1 Bigha (Assam) has 5 Katthas |
| 1 Kattha | Bengal | 720 sq ft, 1 Bigha (Bengal) has 20 Katthas |
| 1 Kattha | Bihar | 1361.25 sq ft, 1 Bigha (Bihar) has 20 Katthas |
| 1 Lecha | Assam | 144 sq ft, 20 Lechas is 1 Kattha |
Both Dhur and Kattha denote different sizes, depending upon the State. While in Bihar, Dhur is over 68 sq ft, it is merely 3.6 sq ft in Tripura. In addition to Bihar and Tripura, Dhur is also commonly used in Jharkhand. Katha, on the other hand, is used majorly in West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, and Assam. Also, it is used in certain parts of Bihar, alongside Dhur. While the unit varies from State to State, it usually falls in the range of 600-2,800 sq ft.
Land measurement units used in West India:
| Units | States used in | Conversion |
| 1 Bigha | Bihar and parts of Rajasthan | Pucca 3025 sq yd |
| 1 Bigha | Gujarat and parts of Rajasthan | 1936 sq yd |
| 1 Biswa | Upper parts of Rajasthan | Pucca 151.25 sq yd |
| 1 Biswa | Lower parts of Rajasthan | 96.8 sq yd |
| 1 Biswansi | Rajasthan | 1/20 Biswa, 1 Biswa has 20 Biswansis |
Land measurement units used in Central India:
| Units | States used in | Conversion |
| 1 Bigha | Parts of Madhya Pradesh | 1333.33 sq yd |
| 1 Kattha | Madhya Pradesh | 600 sq ft, 1 Bigha (MP) has 20 Kathas |