Glossary

Maharashtra land & survey glossary

Plain-language meanings for the words on your 7/12 (Satbara) and Gaav Nakasha (village map), what each one is, and which of them you actually need before joining your sheets.

7/12 extract7/12सातबारा उतारा

Maharashtra's record of rights for a piece of agricultural land, combining Village Form VII (who holds it, and any loans or disputes noted against it) and Form XII (what has been cultivated on it). It is the document a buyer, a bank or a court asks for first. It describes the land in words; the Gaav Nakasha is what shows where it is.

8A extract8A

The holder's account for a village: every survey or Gat number one person holds there, with the total area assessed. Where the 7/12 is one piece of land, the 8A is one person's whole holding in that village.

Gat numberगट क्रमांक

The parcel number used across most of Maharashtra after consolidation, which grouped scattered survey numbers into single blocks. Older records and parts of the state still use the survey number; on a 7/12 you will see whichever applies, and the map sheets are issued against the same number.

Pot-Hissaपोट हिस्सा

A sub-division of a survey or Gat number: the share created when a holding is split between heirs or buyers. Each Pot-Hissa can have its own 7/12 and its own map sheet, which is why a single original parcel often needs several sheets joined to see it whole again.

Ferfarफेरफार

A mutation: the entry that records a change of holder after a sale, inheritance or partition. Until the Ferfar is certified the 7/12 still shows the previous holder, so checking the mutation register is how a buyer confirms a transfer actually went through.

Gaav Nakashaगाव नकाशा

The village map: the cadastral sheet showing every survey and Gat number in a revenue village with its boundaries. A large village is issued as several adjacent sheets, and land on a village edge needs sheets from both villages, which is what a map joiner is for.

Bhu-Naksha

The digital cadastral map service: the same village map, served plot by plot from the state's records rather than as a scanned sheet. Useful for locating a Gat number; the printed sheets are still what you assemble when you need the whole holding on one page.

Talathiतलाठी

The village revenue officer who maintains the 7/12, the mutation register and the crop entries for a group of villages. The first person to approach for a certified extract or to report a change in the record.

Circle Officer

The revenue officer above the Talathi, supervising a circle of villages and certifying mutations. Where a Ferfar is disputed or held up, this is the level it moves to before the Tahsildar.

Property Cardमिळकत पत्रिका

The record of rights for non-agricultural land, city and town plots, kept as a Property Card instead of a 7/12. Urban land in Pune, Mumbai and other city survey areas is recorded this way, against a City Survey (CTS) number rather than a Gat number.

Akarbandआकारबंद

The settlement register listing each survey number in a village with its area and the land revenue assessed on it. It is the reference the 7/12's area figures come from, and it is what a surveyor checks when a boundary or an extent is questioned.

Non-Agricultural orderNA

The Collector's permission converting agricultural land to non-agricultural use: building, industry or a layout. Land without an NA order cannot lawfully be developed, which is why it is checked alongside the 7/12 on any purchase intended for construction.

The full Maharashtra guide · Tamil Nadu's glossary