Ask three sellers in three states how big their plot is and you will hear three different units. One says “two bigha”, another says “ten guntha”, a third says “thirty cents”. None of them is wrong, but you cannot compare the plots, or work out a fair price, until you turn everything into one unit. This guide explains the units you are most likely to meet, how large each one is, and where the traps are.
Start with the units that never change
Some units mean the same thing everywhere in India, because they are tied to the metric system or to fixed measures of length. Learn these first and use them as your anchor.
- Square foot (sq ft): the everyday unit for flats, houses and urban plots.
- Square metre (sq m): the unit used in most official records and maps. 1 sq m is about 10.764 sq ft.
- Square yard (gaj): 9 sq ft. Common in Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat, where “gaj” is the word you will hear.
- Acre: 43,560 sq ft, or 4,840 sq yd, or about 4,047 sq m.
- Hectare: 10,000 sq m, which is about 2.471 acres or 107,639 sq ft. Government land records often use hectares.
Units that are fixed but local
These units are used in particular regions and have a well-known fixed size. They are safe to convert as long as you are sure you are in the right region.
| Unit | Where you hear it | Size |
|---|---|---|
| Guntha | Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Telangana | 1,089 sq ft (33 ft × 33 ft); 40 guntha = 1 acre |
| Cent | Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka | 435.6 sq ft; 100 cents = 1 acre |
| Ground | Chennai and parts of Tamil Nadu | 2,400 sq ft; about 18.15 grounds = 1 acre |
| Marla | Punjab, Haryana, Himachal, Pakistan border regions | 272.25 sq ft (30.25 sq yd) |
| Kanal | Punjab, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir | 20 marla, or 5,445 sq ft; 8 kanal = 1 acre |
Notice how neatly these fit together. Forty gunthas make an acre, so do a hundred cents, so do eight kanals. If a seller’s numbers do not add up to an acre in the way the table suggests, ask for the exact area in the record.
Units that change from place to place
This is where most mistakes happen. Bigha, katha, biswa, dhur and lecha are used across the north, east and north-east, but their sizes differ by state and sometimes by district. A bigha in one state can be almost twice the size of a bigha in another. We cover the reasons in a separate guide, why bigha and katha differ. For now the rule is simple: never convert a bigha or katha without knowing the state, and when money is involved, ask for the area in square feet, square metres or hectares as written in the land record.
Why the old units survive
Land was measured long before the metric system arrived, and many revenue records still carry the older units. When states updated their records, they often converted the numbers but kept the local words, because farmers and sellers think in them. That is why one document may list a plot in hectares, the seller may call it “three bigha”, and the broker may quote a price per square yard. All three describe the same land. Your job as a buyer is to line them up.
A simple method for comparing plots
- Write down the area exactly as the seller states it, with the unit and the state.
- Find the same area in the sale deed or land record. If the two differ, ask which is correct before you go further.
- Convert everything to square feet, because that is the unit in which prices are usually compared.
- Divide the asking price by the area in square feet to get a price per square foot. Do this for every plot you are comparing.
- Sanity-check with a second tool. If two calculators disagree, the difference is almost always a regional unit.
Mixed measurements
Many plots are quoted in two or three units added together, such as “1 acre 20 guntha” or “2 bigha 5 biswa”. Convert each part separately to square feet, then add. Do not try to add the numbers in their own units unless you know exactly how many of the smaller unit fit into the larger one in that state. A calculator that lets you add several areas, like the Plotwise converter, saves you from doing this by hand.
What to do when the numbers do not match
It is common for the area on the ground to differ slightly from the area on paper. Boundaries move, old surveys were approximate, and roads or drains may have taken a strip. A small difference is not unusual. A large one is a warning. Ask for a fresh measurement by a licensed surveyor, compare it with the revenue record, and write the agreed area into the sale agreement in square feet or square metres so there is no dispute later.
Quick reference
- 1 acre = 43,560 sq ft = 4,840 sq yd = 40 guntha = 100 cents
- 1 hectare = 2.471 acres = 107,639 sq ft
- 1 sq yd (gaj) = 9 sq ft
- 1 sq m = 10.764 sq ft
- 1 kanal = 20 marla = 5,445 sq ft
- 1 ground = 2,400 sq ft
These figures are for information. Always confirm local unit sizes with the sub-registrar or revenue office before you sign anything.