Indian Land Units by State

Where India’s land units come from

India’s traditional land units are the legacy of a revenue system, not a measurement one. Before the Mughals, a bigha in Bengal could be roughly twice the size of one in Punjab. Around 1580, Emperor Akbar’s finance minister Raja Todar Mal introduced the Dahsala (zabt) settlement, which — as recorded in the Ain-i-Akbari — defined a single imperial “Ilahi bigha” of 3,600 square Ilahi gaz and assessed revenue by crop yield per bigha, so the treasury could compare productivity across the empire. With the Ilahi gaz at roughly 33 inches, that works out to about 27,225 sq ft (≈0.6 acre) — essentially the 165 × 165 ft “pucca bigha” that Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan still use today. (The exact acreage is gaz-dependent: the gaz ranged from 24 to 41 inches across regions and centuries, so older sources also gloss Akbar’s bigha as “about half an acre.”)

The Ilahi bigha was a revenue standard, never enforced for everyday local measurement. Princely states, zamindari estates and the British — who settled land province by province through the 19th century, including the Punjab canal-colony killabandi surveys of the 1890s — each kept their own bigha, katha and marla. So the units were never unified nationally. After 1947, metrication made the acre and hectare the legal units, but bigha, biswa, katha and dhur survived in local practice and still appear on revenue records (jamabandi / khatauni) beside the metric figure — which is exactly why the same unit name means a different area in each state.

Bigha size by state

A bigha is a traditional South Asian land unit whose size is not standardised in India — it ranges from roughly 1,500 to 2,530 m² depending on the state and on whether a "pucca" (large) or "kachha" (small) bigha is meant. In Bangladesh it is fixed at 14,400 sq ft (20 katha).

• * Haryana & Punjab (kachha basis): Bigha is not standardised in Haryana/Punjab — local 1/5, 1/4 and 1/2-acre bighas (8,712 / 10,890 / 21,780 sq ft) also exist. Confirm against local records.
• * Haryana & Punjab (pucca basis): Bigha is not standardised in Haryana/Punjab — several local bases exist. Confirm against local records.

Biswa size by state

A biswa is 1/20 of a bigha, so like the bigha its real size depends on the state. 1 biswa = 20 biswansi.

• * Haryana & Punjab (kachha basis): Tracks the local bigha basis, which is not standardised in Haryana/Punjab. Confirm against local records.

Katha size by state

A katha (also spelt kattha) is the common land unit across eastern India and Bangladesh. In most states 1 bigha = 20 katha, but in Assam 1 bigha = 5 katha, so the katha’s size varies widely by state. Bangladesh is the exception that fixes it: there a katha is 720 sq ft everywhere.

Dhur size by state

A dhur is a small land unit used mainly in Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh, where 1 katha = 20 dhur and 1 dhur = 20 dhurki.

The units in depth

Bigha

The name bigha comes from the Sanskrit vigraha (“division” or “separation”), through Prakrit into Hindi bīghā and Bengali bigha; a folk gloss describes it as “the area two ploughs could work.” It is the most widespread traditional unit — used for agricultural land and rural plot pricing across Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Assam and Gujarat (as vigha). It appears on revenue records beside the surveyed area, but it is not the legal registry unit — a sale deed records the surveyed area in acres or square metres, with the bigha as the colloquial equivalent.

Biswa

A biswa is one-twentieth of the local bigha — the name comes from bīs (“twenty”). Because it is a fixed fraction, it inherits the bigha’s per-state size and its pucca/kachha split: a pucca biswa in UP/Rajasthan is about 1,361 sq ft, while a Himachal or kachha biswa is smaller. It divides further into 20 biswansi. In the Punjab/Haryana karam system the word is used more loosely, so always tie a biswa to its state.

Katha (kattha)

The katha is the eastern-India unit, with recorded use going back to the Pala Empire in Bihar. The ratio 1 bigha = 20 katha holds across most of the east, but Assam is the famous exception at 1 bigha = 5 katha — the single most common source of error. Its absolute size ranges widely: about 1,361 sq ft in Bihar, 720 sq ft in rural West Bengal and Jharkhand, roughly 360 sq ft in Kolkata, and 2,880 sq ft in upper Assam. In Bengal a katha subdivides into 16 chatak (1 chatak = 45 sq ft).

Dhur

The dhur is the smallest of the common eastern units: 1 katha = 20 dhur, and 1 dhur divides into 20 dhurki. In the Bihar / eastern-UP system a dhur is about 68 sq ft (≈6.3 m²). Like the katha, its absolute size follows whichever katha the district uses.

North Indian units: marla, kanal, killa and gaj

The Punjab–Haryana belt uses a different, fixed-ratio family that — unlike the bigha — has exact, state-independent sizes, standardised by the British canal-colony killabandi surveys of the 1890s:

• 1 gaj = 1 square gaz = 1 square yard = 9 sq ft (0.836 m²) — the everyday plot unit.
• 1 marla = 272.25 sq ft = 30.25 gaj = 9 sarsahi (a sarsahi is one square karam, and a karam is 5.5 ft, so 9 × 30.25 = 272.25).
• 1 kanal = 20 marla = 5,445 sq ft = 605 sq yd.
• 1 killa = 1 ghumaon = 1 acre = 8 kanal = 160 marla = 43,560 sq ft.
• 1 murabba = 25 killa (25 acres) — the masonry-pillared “square” block of the canal-colony survey.

A note on the gaz: historically it was a length (the “Mughal yard,” about 33 inches), while gaj in property means the square of it — a square yard. And beware the border: an Indian marla is 272.25 sq ft, but some Pakistani urban schemes rounded the marla to about 225 sq ft (25 sq yd), so the two are not interchangeable. Convert these directly with marla → gaj, kanal → marla and killa → bigha.

Bigha to acre — quick answer by state

Because a bigha isn’t a fixed size, “1 bigha in acres” has a different answer in each state (all computed from the sq-ft values above, where 1 acre = 43,560 sq ft):

• UP / Bihar / Rajasthan (pucca), 27,225 sq ft → ≈0.625 acre
• Rajasthan (kachha), 17,424 sq ft → ≈0.40 acre
• West Bengal & Assam, 14,400 sq ft → 1/3 acre (≈0.33)
• Madhya Pradesh, 12,000 sq ft → ≈0.276 acre
• Himachal Pradesh, 8,712 sq ft → 1/5 acre (0.20)

Pucca vs kachha — why two sizes exist

In several northern states a pucca (“pakka”, large) bigha is the bigger official measure, while a kachha (small) bigha is a local fraction of it. The fraction is not constant — it runs from about a half to two-thirds and is set district by district. Rajasthan, for instance, uses a 27,225 sq ft pucca bigha and a 17,424 sq ft kachha bigha (about two-thirds), while parts of western UP use a kachha bigha nearer a third of the pucca. The biswa, being 1/20 of a bigha, tracks the same pucca/kachha split. Because of this, always confirm which version a local quote uses.

Haryana and Punjab bighas are genuinely unstandardised: alongside the values in the table above, some sources give a Punjab/Haryana bigha of 21,780 sq ft (exactly half an acre). Treat any single figure there as one of several documented variants and verify against the local patwari record.

How the units relate

• 1 bigha = 20 biswa (and 1 biswa = 20 biswansi) wherever the bigha–biswa system is used.
• 1 katha = 20 dhur (and 1 dhur = 20 dhurki) in the Bihar / eastern-UP system.
• 1 bigha = 20 katha in most of eastern India — but only 5 katha in Assam.
• 1 katha = 16 chatak in Bengal (1 chatak = 45 sq ft), and 1 lessa (Assam) = 144 sq ft.
• 1 killa = 8 kanal = 160 marla, 1 marla = 9 sarsahi, and 1 murabba = 25 killa — the fixed North Indian hierarchy.

Only the absolute size changes by state; these within-system ratios stay fixed.

Convert these units

Use the by-state converters (they carry the same per-state values and a region selector):

• Bigha to Acre (by state)
• Hectare to Bigha (by state)
• Killa to Bigha (by state)
• Bigha to Kanal (by state)
• Katha to Gaj (by state)
• Dhur to Decimal (by state)
• Bigha to Biswa
• Marla to Gaj

See all area & land-unit conversions →

Sources & how to cite

Compiled from multiple references, including Wikipedia: Bigha, Wikipedia: Katha, Wikipedia: Measurement of land in Punjab and state land-record references, cross-checked against real-estate sources.

Cite this page: “Indian Land Units by State”, Internet Tool Wizard, https://www.internettoolwizard.com/guides/indian-land-units-by-state/ (updated 2026-07-13).

Frequently asked questions

How many square feet is 1 bigha?

It depends on the state. A pucca bigha in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan is 27,225 sq ft (2,529 m²), but a bigha is 14,400 sq ft in West Bengal and Assam, 12,000 sq ft in Madhya Pradesh and 8,712 sq ft (1/5 acre) in Himachal Pradesh. See the table above for your state.

Why does a bigha (or katha) differ by state?

These are traditional units recorded separately by each state’s revenue system, never standardised nationally. Many states also keep a larger “pucca” and a smaller “kachha” version. So the only correct value is the one for your specific state or district.

What is the difference between a pucca and kachha bigha?

A pucca (“pakka”, large) bigha is the bigger official measure; a kachha (small) bigha is a local fraction of it — often a third or a quarter. For example, in Rajasthan the pucca bigha is 27,225 sq ft while the kachha bigha is 17,424 sq ft.

How many katha are in a bigha?

In most of eastern India 1 bigha = 20 katha, and 1 katha = 20 dhur. The big exception is Assam, where 1 bigha = 5 katha. Because the bigha itself varies by state, the katha’s absolute size varies too.

How many square feet is 1 bigha in acres?

It depends on the state, because a bigha is not a fixed size. A pucca bigha in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan (27,225 sq ft) is about 0.625 acre; a West Bengal or Assam bigha (14,400 sq ft) is 1/3 acre; Madhya Pradesh (12,000 sq ft) is about 0.276 acre; and a Himachal Pradesh bigha (8,712 sq ft) is exactly 1/5 acre. Use the table above and the by-state converters for your state.

Where do these units come from?

The bigha was standardised for revenue by Emperor Akbar’s finance minister Raja Todar Mal around 1580 (the Dahsala system), which defined an imperial “Ilahi bigha” of 3,600 square Ilahi gaz. It was never enforced for everyday local measurement, so princely states, zamindari systems and British province-by-province settlements each kept their own version — which is why the same unit name means different areas today. After 1947 the acre and hectare became the legal units, but bigha, biswa, katha and dhur survive in local practice and on revenue records.

What are marla, kanal and killa (the North Indian units)?

These are the fixed-ratio Punjab/Haryana units: 1 marla = 272.25 sq ft = 30.25 gaj (9 sarsahi); 1 kanal = 20 marla = 5,445 sq ft; and 1 killa = 1 ghumaon = 1 acre = 8 kanal = 160 marla = 43,560 sq ft, with 1 murabba = 25 killa. Unlike the bigha, these have exact, state-independent ratios.

What is a gaj, and how many square feet is it?

In property, 1 gaj = 1 square gaz = 1 square yard = 9 sq ft (0.836 m²). It is the everyday plot unit across Delhi, UP, Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan — so 200 gaj = 1,800 sq ft and 1 marla = 30.25 gaj. (Historically the gaz was a length, the “Mughal yard” of about 33 inches; “gaj” in property means the square of it.)