Glossary

Odisha land & survey glossary

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

Bhu-Nakshaଭୂ-ନକ୍ସା

Odisha's cadastral map: the drawing of a revenue village showing every plot with its boundaries and plot numbers. It is served one sheet at a time, so a Khata whose plots sit near a sheet edge is cut by the sheet border, and the rest of it is on the next sheet. Where the RoR says who holds the land, the Bhu-Naksha shows where it is.

Record of RightsRoRଅଧିକାର ଅଭିଲେଖ

The textual record for a Khata in Odisha: the tenant's name, the plot numbers held under it, the area of each and its Kisam. It is the document a buyer, a bank or a court asks for first. It describes the land in words; only the Bhu-Naksha draws it.

Khatiyanଖତିଆନ

The settlement record for a village, listing each Khata with the plots under it as they stood when the village was last surveyed. The RoR on Bhulekh is the live version of the same thing; the Khatiyan is what an older claim is traced back through.

Khata numberଖାତା ନମ୍ବର

The holding number that groups every plot one tenant holds in a village. One Khata usually covers several plot numbers, which is exactly why a single holding needs several map sheets joined together.

Plot numberପ୍ଲଟ ନମ୍ବର

The identifier for one parcel of land on the cadastral map — Odisha's equivalent of a survey number. Every plot number belongs to a Khata, and it is the number you quote when asking Bhu-Naksha for a map sheet.

Hal and Sabikହାଲ / ସବିକ

Sabik is the plot or Khata number from the previous settlement; Hal is the current one. Odisha has resettled land more than once, so a deed written decades ago names Sabik numbers that no longer appear on today's map. Matching Sabik to Hal is usually the first step in reading an old document — Odisha's version of an old-to-new survey number correlation.

Kisamକିସମ

How a plot is classified in the record — Sarad, Bahal, Berna, Gharabari and so on. It decides the revenue payable and, in practice, what may be built or grown there. It is a column on the RoR, not a document of its own.

Pattaପଟ୍ଟା

The document recording a tenant's right to hold a specific parcel. In Odisha it is closely tied to the RoR rather than being a wholly separate register — someone who knows the Tamil Nadu patta should read the RoR as the equivalent document here.

Nama JariMutationନାମ ଜାରି

Entering a transfer — sale, inheritance or partition — against the Khata, so the RoR names the new tenant. Until it completes the record still shows the previous one, whatever the sale deed says. It is the thing to check before relying on a downloaded RoR for a purchase.

Tahasildarତହସିଲଦାର

The revenue officer in charge of a tehsil, and the authority a mutation, a classification change or a correction to the RoR is decided by. Odisha spells the office Tahasildar; it is the same post other states write as Tahsildar or Tehsildar.

Revenue InspectorRIରାଜସ୍ୱ ନିରୀକ୍ଷକ

The field officer for a group of villages, who verifies possession on the ground and reports on mutation and correction applications. The RI circle is the level at which a village map request is usually actioned.

Aminଆମିନ

The surveyor who measures land on the ground and prepares the sketch for a partition, a demarcation or a disputed boundary. When the map and the fence disagree, the Amin's measurement is what settles it in the record.

The full Odisha guide · Tamil Nadu's glossary