Land unit converter for India — bigha, kanal, marla, guntha, cent and acre

What are the standard land unit values in India?

The fixed units are simple: 1 acre = 43,560 sq ft, 1 hectare ≈ 2.471 acres, 1 square metre ≈ 10.764 sq ft and 1 square yard (gaj) = 9 sq ft. Everything else is usually defined in relation to these.

In Punjab, Haryana and Himachal, 1 kanal = 20 marla = 5,445 sq ft and 1 marla = 272.25 sq ft. A killa is 1 acre, which is 8 kanal, and a murabba is a block of 25 killa (25 acres) in consolidated villages.

In Maharashtra, Gujarat and Karnataka, 1 guntha = 1,089 sq ft and 40 guntha make an acre. In the south and east, 1 cent (called a decimal in Bihar, Odisha and West Bengal) = 435.6 sq ft, one hundredth of an acre. In Tamil Nadu 1 ground = 2,400 sq ft, and in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana 1 ankanam = 72 sq ft.

Worked examples: kanal, marla, guntha and cent

Kanal to acre: 1 kanal = 5,445 sq ft, so 4 kanal = 21,780 sq ft — exactly half an acre. A 10-marla house plot is half a kanal, or 2,722.5 sq ft.

Guntha to acre: 1 guntha = 1,089 sq ft, so 10 guntha = 10,890 sq ft, a quarter of an acre. Cent to sq ft: 5 cents = 2,178 sq ft, and 50 cents is half an acre.

Gaj to marla: 1 marla = 30.25 gaj, so a 200-gaj plot is about 6.6 marla (1,800 sq ft).

Why do bigha, biswa and katha change by state?

Bigha is an old customary unit, and each region settled on its own size long before metric units arrived. A bigha in one state can be well under half an acre, while in another it is closer to a whole acre. Biswa and katha are fractions of the local bigha, so they change with it.

Even within a state, some districts or older records use a different bigha (for example a ‘pucca’ and a ‘kachha’ bigha). The converter uses the value most commonly quoted for your chosen state, which is a good starting point but not a legal measurement.

Some towns also use a smaller urban marla — often 225 sq ft — for house plots. If a deed or dealer quotes marla, ask which one they mean.

Which figure should you trust in a dispute?

Trust the area written in your record of rights — the jamabandi, khatauni, 7/12 extract or patta — and the survey map, not a converted figure. Conversions help you understand and compare; they don’t change what the record says.

If the area on the ground seems smaller than the record, the next step is a demarcation (official boundary measurement) through the tehsil office, not an argument over units.