How to read a Sikkim Parcha Khatiyan
Khatiyan number, plot number and revenue block: what each part of a Sikkim Parcha Khatiyan tells you, why it can lag behind a transfer, and what to settle before a purchase.
The Khatiyan is Sikkim's record of rights for a revenue block, and the Parcha Khatiyan is the holder's copy of an entry in it. Most of the confusion comes from mixing up the two numbers on it: the Khatiyan number and the plot number.
The two numbers
- Khatiyan number
- The number of the holding's entry in the block's Khatiyan. One entry can list many plots.
- Plot number
- One plot on the block's cadastral map. It is the number a map request is keyed on.
What else the Parcha says
- The revenue block, with its sub-division and district. Copy these exactly into any map request.
- The holder or holders, with a share where the holding is joint.
- Each plot number in the holding, with its area and the kind of land it is recorded as.
Read the area with the unit printed on your copy, and convert before you compare it with a deed or a valuation in a different unit. A mismatch in units is the most common false alarm.
When the Parcha and the facts disagree
The Khatiyan only changes when a mutation is made. A Parcha that still shows a parent after an inheritance, or the whole family after a partition, is usually a mutation that has not been made yet. Check the current entry with the land revenue office before relying on an older copy.
From the record to the map
The Parcha lists plot numbers and stops there. Which of them adjoin, and what the holding looks like as one shape on the hillside, comes from the cadastral map sheets they fall on. Joining those sheets is usually the last step before a partition, a loan or a building application.
🔗 Sikkim land and survey glossary →Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between the Khatiyan and the Parcha Khatiyan?+
The Khatiyan is the record of rights for the whole revenue block. The Parcha Khatiyan is the holder's copy of their own entry in it.
What is the difference between the Khatiyan number and the plot number?+
The Khatiyan number identifies the holding's entry in the block's record. The plot number identifies one plot on the cadastral map. One entry can list many plots.
Why does my Parcha still show my late father as the holder?+
Because the mutation that records the inheritance has not been made yet. Until it is, the Khatiyan names the previous holder. The land revenue office handles the change.