30 September 2026·4 min read

How to read a Record of Rights in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands

Survey number, holder, area and classification: what an Andaman and Nicobar Record of Rights tells you, how it relates to the Patta, and why it can lag behind a transfer.

In the islands' revenue villages the record of land is the Record of Rights, usually alongside a Patta. Much of the settled land was allotted by the Administration, so the papers behind a holding often start with an allotment rather than a long chain of sales.

What the Record of Rights says

Revenue village and tehsil: Where the parcel is recorded. Copy these exactly into any map request.
Survey number: The parcel on the village map. It is the number a map request is keyed on.
Holder, area and classification: Who holds the parcel in the revenue record, how much land it is, and what kind of land it is recorded as.

Record of Rights and Patta

The Patta is the document issued to the holder; the Record of Rights is the revenue office's record of the same holding. Read them together: they should name the same holder, revenue village and survey numbers. Read the area with the unit printed on your copy, and convert before you compare it with a deed or a plan in a different unit.

When the record and the facts disagree

The record only changes when a mutation is made. A Record of Rights that still shows a parent after an inheritance is usually a mutation that has not been made yet. Check the current entry with the tehsil office before relying on an older copy.

💡 The Record of Rights records who holds land in the revenue record. Conditions attached to allotted land, and what is permitted near or inside a tribal reserve, are questions for the Administration's revenue office and an advocate, not for this page. Check the Administration's current services for how the record is issued today.

From the record to the map

The Record of Rights lists survey numbers and stops there. Which of them adjoin, and what the holding looks like as one shape, comes from the village map sheets they fall on. Joining those sheets is usually the last step before a partition, a loan or a building application.

🔗 Andaman and Nicobar Islands land and survey glossary →

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between the Record of Rights and the Patta?+

The Patta is the document issued to the holder. The Record of Rights is the revenue office's record of the same holding. They should agree on the holder, village and survey numbers.

Is the Record of Rights proof of ownership?+

It is the revenue record of who holds the land, which is why banks ask for it, but title rests on the documents behind it, such as the allotment and any registered deeds.

Why does the record still show my late father as the holder?+

Because the mutation that records the inheritance has not been made yet. Until it is, the Record of Rights names the previous holder. The tehsil office handles the change.