Glossary

Uttar Pradesh land & survey glossary

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

Khatauniखतौनी

The record of rights for a revenue village: who holds which Khata, which Gata numbers it covers and how much area. Revised periodically, and the document a purchase or a loan is checked against.

Khasraखसरा

The field register: each plot in the village with its area, soil class and what was grown on it, season by season. The ground-level detail behind a Khatauni entry.

Gata Sankhyaगाटा संख्या

The plot number on a Uttar Pradesh revenue map, the same parcel the Khasra number identifies in the field register. A holding spread over several Gata numbers has a sheet for each.

Bhu-Nakshaभू-नक्शा

The cadastral map showing every Gata in a revenue village with its boundaries. A large village is issued as several adjacent sheets, these are what get joined into one continuous village map.

Bhulekhभूलेख

The state's land-records portal, where the Khatauni and Khasra are published. The single most common source of confusion in UP: Bhulekh carries the text of the record, while the map lives on the separate Bhu-Naksha site.

Varasatवरासत

Mutation by inheritance, recording heirs against a holding after a death. Until it is entered the Khatauni still names the deceased holder, which is what stalls a great many transactions.

Lekhpalलेखपाल

The village revenue official who maintains the Khasra and reports changes on the ground: UP's counterpart to the Patwari or Talathi, and the first person approached for a record entry or correction.

Tehsildarतहसीलदार

The revenue officer in charge of a tehsil, where certified copies are issued and mutations are decided. The level a disputed or delayed record entry moves to.

Bhumidharभूमिधर

The principal class of landholder under UP's tenancy law, holding either transferable or non-transferable rights, depending on how the holding was acquired. Which one appears on the Khatauni decides whether the land can be sold at all.

Chakbandiचकबंदी

Consolidation: the reorganisation of scattered plots into compact blocks, which renumbers the parcels in a village. Where consolidation has run, older documents refer to numbers that no longer exist on the current map, and the two have to be reconciled.

Gram Sabha land

Land vested in the village community (ponds, pasture, paths and common ground), recorded separately and not ordinarily transferable to a private holder. Checked on any purchase adjoining village common land.

Fasli yearफसली वर्ष

The revenue year UP records are dated in, running from July, which is why a Khatauni carries a Fasli year rather than a calendar one. Knowing which Fasli a copy belongs to tells you how current it is.

The full Uttar Pradesh guide · Tamil Nadu's glossary