Land Measurement Units in India

Owing to the vast geographic area of India, the land measurement units vary from one region to another. Although the global land measurement units are popularly followed in India, buyers may get confused with regional real estate jargons. So, while dealing with real estate property investments, you should know which are the land measurements units in India.

Let’s discuss the different land measurement units used across the globe and in various parts of India.

Globally accepted land measurement units

• Square feet (sq ft):

It is the most commonly used unit of measurement in countries like India, US, Canada & the UK. Square feet is the standard benchmark used in Indian real estate market as specified by the RERA (Real Estate Regulatory Authority) Act to measure the size of an apartment or house. 

A square foot is equal to 0.0990304 square metres and is measured as a square with sides 0.3048 metres in length. 

To calculate the area of a room in sq ft, multiply the length and breadth of the room measured in feet. For eg: if a room has dimensions 10 ft x 10 ft, the sq ft area would be 10 x 10 = 100 sq ft. 

• Square yard (sq yd):

Square is a common type of land measurement used in the USA, Canada and the UK. In metric terms, each side of the square is equal to 0.91 meters. It is still used as a land measurement unit in real estate, land surveying, etc. 

1 square yard = 9 square feet.

1 acre = 4840 square yards

Square yards can be abbreviated as sq yd or yd².

• Square metre (sq m): 

A square metre is defined as the area enclosed by a square with sides measuring 1 metre. It is abbreviated as m². 

1 Square meter = 10.76 square feet.

• Acre:

One acre is equivalent to 4047 square meters and 43,560 square feet. In India, residential plots are measured in square feet while agricultural land is measured in acres. 

• Hectare:

Hectare is a commonly used measurement unit in land sale, planning and agriculture. One hectare is equal to 100 acres and 10,000 square meters.

Apart from the above-mentioned units, there are various regional land measurement units in India that you may not be aware of. Following is the list of units followed in regions like North-east India, North India and South India. 

NORTHEAST INDIA

• Dhur:

   

This unit is used to measure land in Tripura, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand. However, the value of this unit varies from state to state. In Tripura, 1 Dhur = 3.6 sq ft. In Bihar & Jharkhand, 1 Dhur = 68 sq ft

• Kattha: 

Kattha is a unit used in the states of Assam, Bihar, West Bengal & Madhya Pradesh. In Assam, 1 Kattha = 2880 sq ft. In West Bengal 1 Kattha = 720 sq ft. In Bihar, 1 Kattha = 1361.25 sq ft

• Chatak: 

In West Bengal, the land is measured in “Chatak”.  1 Chatak refers to 180 square feet.

• Lecha:

Lecha is a measurement unit used in Assam, where 1 Lecha equals 144 square feet.

NORTH INDIA

• Ga:

Gaj is a unit commonly used in Delhi, Punjab and Haryana. It denotes one square yard or 9 square feet.

• Bigha:

Bigha is the most widely used measurement unit in Bihar, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Assam, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Even in this case, the value varies from state to state. But approximately, 406 bighas of land makes up for an acre of land.

• Biswa:

Biswa is a land measurement unit commonly used in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. Although the value varies from one place to another, 1 Biswa comes between the ranges 50-150 square yards. 

• Biswani:

It is a unit commonly used in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. It is calculated as 1 Biswa = 20 Biswanis 

• Killa:

Killa denotes an acre of land in Punjab and Haryana.

• Kanal:

Kanal is used to measure land in Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir and Punjab. 8 Kanals will be equivalent to 1 acre of land.

• Ghumao:

Ghumao denotes an acre of land in the states Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab.

• Sarsahi:

Sarsahi is commonly used in Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.  1 Sarsahi denotes 30.25 square feet.

• Marla:

Marla is used in Punjab and Haryana and 1 Marla refers to 272.25 square feet.

SOUTH INDIA

• Ankanam:

Ankanam is commonly used in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. 1 Ankanam denotes 72 square feet of land. 

• Guntha: 

People of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra, use Guntha which stands for 1,089 square feet of land.

• Kuncham:

It is mostly used in Andhra Pradesh and it denotes 484 square feet of land.

• Ground:

It is commonly used in Tamil Nadu for land measuring purposes. It refers to 2400 square feet of land.

• Cent:

Cent is used in Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu where 1 cent equals to 435.6 square feet.

We hope that now you have got a good understanding of the different land measurement units used in India and across the globe. 

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