Glossary

Bihar land & survey glossary

Plain-language meanings for the words on your Jamabandi / Khatiyan and Bhu-Naksha (cadastral map), what each one is, and which of them you actually need before joining your sheets.

Bhu-Nakshaभू-नक्शा

Bihar's cadastral map: the drawing of a mauza showing each Khesra number with its boundaries. Served one sheet at a time, keyed on district, anchal and mauza, so a holding near a sheet edge comes out cut in half — the sheets have to be joined before the boundary reads continuously.

Khesra numberखेसरा नंबर

The identifier for one parcel within a mauza — Bihar's equivalent of a survey number. It is the number Bhu-Naksha keys a map sheet on, and the number that gets sub-divided after a partition.

Khatiyanखतियान

The survey record made at the cadastral settlement: the raiyat, the Khata and the Khesra numbers as they stood when the village was surveyed. It is what an inheritance claim or an old title is traced through — and it is frequently decades out of date on who is actually in possession.

Jamabandiजमाबंदी

The live register of who is recorded as paying revenue on a holding now. Where the Khatiyan says who held the land at settlement, the Jamabandi says who holds it today — and the two disagreeing is the single most common root of a Bihar land dispute.

Dakhil-KharijMutationदाखिल-खारिज

The application to enter a transfer — sale, inheritance or partition — against the Jamabandi. Until it completes, the register still names the previous raiyat whatever the sale deed says. Checking its status is the practical first step before buying.

Raiyatरैयत

The person recorded as holding the land and paying revenue on it. Bihar's records are built around the raiyat rather than the plot, which is why a holding scattered across many Khesra numbers still appears under one name.

Mauzaमौज़ा

The revenue village — the unit a cadastral survey was carried out over and the unit Bhu-Naksha serves maps for. A mauza and a modern panchayat village need not be the same thing, and a map request is keyed on the mauza.

BatwaraPartitionबटवारा

The division of a joint family holding between its members. Bihar produces more partitioned holdings than almost anywhere, which is why a single family's land so often sits in a dozen scattered Khesra numbers needing several sheets joined to see at once.

Parchaपर्चा

A certificate of possession issued against a holding, also met as the LPC (Land Possession Certificate). It is what a bank or a government scheme asks for as proof that the applicant actually holds the land the Jamabandi names.

Gair Mazaruaगैर मजरूआ

Government land within a mauza. Gair Mazarua Aam is common land — roads, ponds, burial grounds — held for public use; Gair Mazarua Khas is government land the state holds in its own right. Neither can be transferred by a private seller, and encroachment on it is a frequent surprise for buyers, so the classification on the map is worth reading before money moves.

Anchal AdhikariCOअंचल अधिकारी

The Circle Officer, the revenue authority for an anchal. Mutation, correction and possession questions are decided here, and the anchal is the level both Bihar Bhumi and Bhu-Naksha organise their village lists under.

Halka Karmchariहल्का कर्मचारी

The village-level revenue employee for a halka (a group of mauzas) — Bihar's counterpart to the Patwari or Lekhpal. Field verification for a mutation, and map sheets not available online, both start here.

The full Bihar guide · Tamil Nadu's glossary