How good are you with the real estate jargon in India? Everything from the type of land to the unit of measurement varies and it will save you time to get a hold of them before venturing further into a vast geographical country like India.
While some of the common units of measurement are used predominantly all over the world, terms may vary when there are purchases made locally within India. Thus, it is imperative to keep yourself updated with the terms since this has been cited as a matter of concern from various buyers. Here are some of the Measuring units used in India for land that you need to acquaint yourself with.
Square foot (feet) (sq ft): It is the most commonly used unit of measurement in the Indian urban housing market. According to Real Estate Regulation Act (RERA), real estate builders have to use square feet as the standard benchmark for measuring apartment or flat sizes. It is measured in feet, along the length and the breadth of a square. Getting the right square feet measurement is necessary to gauge the size of the space.
- Square yard: A square yard is measured as 9 square feet.
- Square meter (sq mt): A square meter refers to 10.76 square feet.
- Acre: One acre stands for 100 square meters and 43,560 square feet.
- Hectare: One hectare is equal to 100 acres and 10,000 square meters.
These are the commonly used terms with respect to units of land measurement. But below mentioned are the commonly used Measuring units used in India for land.
NORTH EAST INDIA
1) The residents of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar Jharkhand, and Tripura measure land in “Dhur”. Again, this term varies with size depending on the state. Example: In Bihar, a Dhur refers to 68 square feet of land while in Tripura, it refers to 3.6 square feet.
2) In the states of Assam, West Bengal, Bihar, and Madhya Pradesh, “Kattha” is used. This is used to denote various values according to the state but it broadly ranges from 600 to 2,800 square feet.
3) Residents of West Bengal measure land in “Chatak”. Here, one Chatak refers to 180 square feet.
4) Another unit of measurement in Assam is “Lecha” where one Lecha equals to 144 square
feet.
NORTH INDIA
1) In the north Indian states of Delhi, Punjab and Haryana, people use “Gaj” which denotes one square yard or 9 square feet.
2) Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Assam, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttrakhand also use “Bigha”. It is important to consider here also that a measure of Bigha varies from state to state. But the approximate unit of 4-6 bighas comprises for an acre of land.
3) “Biswa” is a unit of measure widely used in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Uttrakhand and Himachal Pradesh. One biswa could range from 50 to 150 square yards but the value varies from one state to another.
4) “Biswani” is commonly used in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttrakhand where 20 biswanis comprise one biswa. But the individual value of one biswani differs for different states.
5) “Killa” is used to denote an acre of land in Punjab and Haryana.
6) Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, and Punjab use “Kanals” wherein one 8 kanals make up for an acre of land.
7) “Ghumao” is another unit used to measure an acre of land in Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab.
8) “Sarsahi” is commonly used in Punjab, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh where one unit of sarsahi
denotes 30.25 square feet.
9) “Marla” is used in Punjab and Haryana and it refers to 272.25 square feet.
SOUTH INDIA
1) In Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, “Ankanam” is used to denote 72 square feet of land.
2) Residents of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra, also use “Guntha” which stands
for 1,089 square feet.
3) “Kuncham” mostly used in Andhra Pradesh is used to denote 484 square feet of land.
4) “Ground” in Tamil Nadu refers to 2400 square feet of land and is used commonly for land
measuring purposes.
5) “Cent” is used in Kerala, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu where 1 cent refers to 435.6 square feet.
These were the commonly used terms to measure the units of land. You should be aware of these terms make your home buying process seamless in any part of India.
