Marla, Kanal, Killa & Ghumaon: North Indian Land Units Explained
The Punjab–Haryana land units — marla, kanal, killa (ghumaon), sarsahi, gaj and murabba — are different from the bigha: their ratios are fixed and state-independent. This is a sourced guide giving the size of each unit in square feet, gaj, square metres and acres, all computed from the exact ratios. Last updated 2026-07-13.
For any legal, property or financial decision, always confirm against your local revenue records (patwari / tehsil). These North Indian units are the same across Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu.
What are marla, kanal, killa & ghumaon?
North India’s land-measure family is built on the karam — a traditional pace of 5.5 ft. Its square is a sarsahi (30.25 sq ft), and the rungs above it — sarsahi → marla → kanal → killa/ghumaon → murabba — are fixed. The everyday gaj (a square yard = 9 sq ft) is the common unit for pricing a plot. Unlike the bigha, these sizes do not change from state to state — they were standardised by the British canal-colony killabandi surveys of the 1890s.
The fixed hierarchy (sarsahi → marla → kanal → killa/ghumaon → murabba)
- 1 sarsahi = 1 square karam = 30.25 sq ft (karam = 5.5 ft).
- 9 sarsahi = 1 marla = 272.25 sq ft = 30.25 gaj.
- 20 marla = 1 kanal = 5,445 sq ft = 605 sq yd.
- 8 kanal = 1 killa = 1 ghumaon = 1 acre = 160 marla = 43,560 sq ft.
- 25 killa = 1 murabba (25 acres).
1 marla in sq ft, gaj & m²
1 marla = 272.25 sq ft = 30.25 gaj = 25.29 m² = 9 sarsahi. This is the backbone unit of North India — house plots are usually quoted in marla and kanal. As a fraction of an acre, 1 marla = 272.25 ÷ 43,560 = 0.00625 acre (1/160 of an acre).
Marla to gaj — why 30.25
A gaj is a square yard = 9 sq ft. Since a marla is 272.25 sq ft, dividing gives 272.25 ÷ 9 = 30.25, so 1 marla = exactly 30.25 gaj. This is the well-known money-keyword conversion. A note on the word: historically the gaz was a length (the “Mughal yard,” about 33 inches), while gaj in property means its square — a square yard. Convert it directly with marla → gaj.
Kanal explained (20 marla)
1 kanal = 20 marla = 5,445 sq ft = 605 sq yd ≈ 505.86 m² = 1/8 of an acre. It is the most common plot unit for houses across Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu — which is why a “1 kanal kothi” is a familiar phrase. The word kanal comes from the Persian kanāl. Convert it with kanal → marla.
Killa = ghumaon = acre
1 killa = 1 ghumaon = 1 acre = 8 kanal = 160 marla = 43,560 sq ft = 4,046.86 m². All three names refer to the same one-acre unit: “killa” is used in western Haryana and Punjab, while “ghumaon” is more common in the hill areas. The word killa is linked to a “ploughed or marked-off field.”
Murabba & killabandi (the canal-colony origin)
1 murabba = 25 killa = 25 acres. The name comes from the British “murabba–killa” canal-colony survey (the 1890s Lower Chenab Canal and others), which laid land out for settler allotment as masonry-pillared murabba (square) blocks — the origin of the whole murabba / killa / killabandi vocabulary.
India vs Pakistan marla
The 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. Whenever you use a figure from across the border, check which standard it follows.
Quick conversion reference table
| Unit | Square feet | Gaj | Square metres | Acres |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gaj | 9 | 1 | 0.8361 | 0.0002 |
| Sarsahi | 30.25 | 3.3611 | 2.8103 | 0.0007 |
| Marla | 272.25 | 30.25 | 25.2929 | 0.0063 |
| Kanal | 5,445 | 605 | 505.8571 | 0.125 |
| Killa / Ghumaon / Acre | 43,560 | 4,840 | 4,046.8564 | 1 |
| Murabba | 1,089,000 | 121,000 | 101,171.4106 | 25 |
Convert these units
See all area & land-unit conversions →
For the state-variable units (bigha, biswa, katha, dhur), see our companion guide: Indian Land Units by State.
Frequently asked questions
- How many square feet is 1 marla?
- 1 marla = 272.25 sq ft (25.29 m²) in India. It also equals 30.25 gaj (square yards) and 9 sarsahi. Note that some Pakistani urban schemes rounded the marla to about 225 sq ft (25 sq yd), so the two are not interchangeable.
- Why is 1 marla equal to 30.25 gaj?
- A gaj is a square yard = 9 sq ft, and a marla is 272.25 sq ft. Dividing, 272.25 ÷ 9 = 30.25, so 1 marla = 30.25 gaj exactly. (Equivalently, 1 marla = 9 sarsahi, and each sarsahi is one square karam of 30.25 sq ft.)
- How many marla are in a kanal?
- 1 kanal = 20 marla = 5,445 sq ft = 605 sq yd (about 505.86 m²). It is the standard plot unit for houses across Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu.
- Is a killa the same as an acre and a ghumaon?
- Yes. 1 killa = 1 ghumaon = 1 acre = 8 kanal = 160 marla = 43,560 sq ft (4,046.86 m²). All three names refer to the same one-acre unit in the North Indian system.
- What is a murabba?
- A murabba is 25 killa (25 acres) — the large square block laid out by the British canal-colony killabandi surveys of the 1890s. Its masonry-pillared square shape gives the whole murabba / killa / killabandi vocabulary its name.
- What is a sarsahi (sarsai)?
- A sarsahi is one square karam. A karam (a traditional pace) is 5.5 ft, so a sarsahi is 5.5 × 5.5 = 30.25 sq ft. Nine sarsahi make one marla (9 × 30.25 = 272.25 sq ft). The standard is 9 sarsahi per marla; a stray "640 sarsai per killa" figure (which would imply only 4 per marla) is an outlier — use 9.
- Do marla and kanal change from state to state?
- No. Unlike the bigha, the marla / kanal / killa family has fixed, state-independent ratios standardised by the British killabandi surveys, so a marla is 272.25 sq ft whether you are in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh or Jammu.