How to read an Uttarakhand Khatauni, and which unit it is written in
What each column of an Uttarakhand record of rights tells you, how Nali and Bigha differ, and what Nazul and Van Panchayat land mean for a purchase.
The Khatauni is Uttarakhand's record of rights and the document everything else is checked against. It names the holder, lists the Khasra numbers under the holding, and gives an area and a class for each. The one thing it will not do is tell you which measurement system you are reading, so that is worth settling first.
Two systems in one state
The hill districts of Kumaon and Garhwal measure in Nali and Mutthi, with twenty Mutthi to a Nali. The Terai districts, Haridwar and Udham Singh Nagar, measure in Bigha and Biswa, with twenty Biswa to a Bigha. The two are not interchangeable, and the local value of a Bigha is not uniform across north India either, so a Bigha in the Terai is not necessarily a Bigha as quoted next door.
Holder, Khata and Khasra
The Khata is the account number grouping everything one holder has in the village; the Khasra numbers under it are the individual fields. Where several names appear against a holding they are co-holders, and a sale by one is not a sale of the whole. In the hills this comes up constantly, because many parcels have passed through undocumented family divisions since the last settlement.
Land that is not simply owned
Two categories change what a transaction can be, and neither is obvious from a listing. Nazul land is government land, typically in and around towns, held on lease rather than owned outright, so what an occupier can build, sell or mortgage follows from the lease and its renewal. Van Panchayat land is community forest land held and managed by a village forest council, an institution particular to these hills, and it is not anyone's private holding.
A boundary question next to Van Panchayat land is answered against the council's records as well as the revenue map, which is worth knowing before commissioning a survey.
Dakhil Kharij, and the gap the record leaves
Dakhil Kharij is mutation: the entry that records a transfer by sale, inheritance or partition against the holding. Until it is done the Khatauni still names the previous holder regardless of what a deed says. Checking its status is the practical first step in verifying that a seller can sell, and in the hill districts it matters more than usual, because family divisions have often gone unrecorded for a generation or more.
From the record to the map
The Khatauni lists Khasra numbers and stops there. Which of them adjoin each other, and what the holding looks like as one shape, comes from the map sheets they fall on. A terraced holding means several sheets, and joining them into one drawing is usually the last step before a valuation, a building application or a sale.
🔗 Uttarakhand land and survey glossary →Frequently asked questions
How many Mutthi are in a Nali?+
Twenty. Nali and Mutthi are the customary hill measures used across the Kumaon and Garhwal districts. The Terai districts use Bigha and Biswa instead, so the unit has to be read off the record rather than assumed.
Can Nazul land be bought outright?+
Nazul is government land held on lease rather than owned outright, so what an occupier can do with it follows from the lease terms and its renewal. That makes it a narrower question than it is for freehold land, and one to settle before a purchase.
What is Van Panchayat land?+
Community forest land held and managed by a village forest council, an institution particular to the Uttarakhand hills. It is not private holding, and a boundary question beside it is answered against the council's records as well as the revenue map.