How to read a Himachal Pradesh Jamabandi
Khewat, Khatauni and Khasra: what each column of a Himachal Jamabandi tells you, how area is recorded, and why the Girdawari, the Intkal and Section 118 matter before a purchase.
The Jamabandi is the record of rights for a village, and in Himachal Pradesh it reads the way it does across the old Punjab system. It is a table, and most confusion comes from mixing up its numbers. Three of them look alike and mean different things.
The three numbers
- Khewat
- The ownership account: the number under which one owner, or a group of co-owners, holds land in the village.
- Khatauni
- The cultivation account within a Khewat: who actually cultivates, whether the owner or a tenant.
- Khasra
- The field: one parcel on the Shajra. One Khewat can include many Khasras, and one Khasra can be shared by several Khewats.
Area
Most of the state records area in Bigha and Biswa, and parts of it in Kanal and Marla. Local units are not the same size everywhere in India, so take the conversion the tehsil uses before comparing the Jamabandi with a deed, a valuation or a plan in square metres or acres. A unit mismatch is the most common false alarm.
Ownership, co-owners and classification
Read the owner column before anything else. Hill holdings are often held jointly by several heirs under one Khewat, each with a share, so a seller may hold a share of a Khasra rather than the whole of it. Land recorded as government land or as Shamlat, the village's common land, is not a private holding. The classification column says what kind of land the Khasra is, irrigated or not, cultivated or not, which matters to a valuation and to what can be done with it.
Nakal: the copy you hand over
A copy of a Jamabandi entry is often called a Nakal. The version you view online is for information; a bank, a registration or a court will want a certified copy from the Patwari or the tehsil.
Girdawari and Intkal
The Khasra Girdawari is the Patwari's inspection at each harvest: what was sown, and who was in possession. It is often what shows possession at a given time. The Intkal is the mutation, the entry that records a transfer. Until an Intkal is attested, the Jamabandi still names the previous owner, whatever the sale deed says, so check its status before relying on a Jamabandi for a purchase.
From the record to the map
The Jamabandi lists Khasra numbers and stops there. Which of them adjoin, and what the holding looks like as one shape, comes from the Shajra sheets and Tatimas they fall on. Joining those sheets is usually the last step before an Intkal, a loan, a demarcation request or a court annexure.
🔗 Himachal Pradesh land and survey glossary →Frequently asked questions
What is a Nakal Jamabandi?+
A copy of an entry in the Jamabandi. The copy you view online is for information; the certified copy from the Patwari or the tehsil is the one a bank, a registration or a court asks for.
Why does the Jamabandi still show the old owner after I bought the land?+
Because the Intkal, the mutation that records the transfer, has not been attested yet. Until it is, the record names the previous owner regardless of the registered sale deed.
What does Shamlat mean in a Himachal Jamabandi?+
Common land of the village, recorded as such rather than as a private holding. What can be done with it is governed by its own law and is a question for the tehsildar and an advocate.