Glossary

Uttarakhand land & survey glossary

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

Bhu-Nakshaभू-नक्शा

The cadastral map of a revenue village, showing each Khasra number with its boundaries. Hill villages are terraced into many small Khasra numbers down a slope, so one holding routinely spans several sheets and needs them joined to be read as a whole.

Khasra numberखसरा नंबर

The field number: one numbered parcel in a revenue village. The map is drawn against it and the Khatauni lists it. In the hills a single family holding is often a long list of very small Khasra numbers on different terraces.

Khatauniखतौनी

Uttarakhand's record of rights: the recorded holder, the Khasra numbers under the holding, the area of each and the class of land. It is the document a buyer, a bank or a court asks for first, and the area on it is written in whichever measure that half of the state uses.

Khata numberखाता नंबर

The account number a holding is recorded under, grouping the Khasra numbers one holder has in a village. Where the Khasra is a piece of land, the Khata is the holder's whole holding there, which is why a Khatauni search accepts either.

Nali and Mutthiनाली / मुट्ठी

The customary hill measures used across the Kumaon and Garhwal districts, with twenty Mutthi to a Nali. An area quoted in Nali means nothing to someone reading in Bigha, and the two systems sit in the same state, so always read the unit off the record rather than assuming it.

Bigha and Biswaबीघा / बिस्वा

The plains measures used in Haridwar and Udham Singh Nagar, with twenty Biswa to a Bigha. The local value of a Bigha is not uniform across north India, so a Bigha in the Terai is not necessarily a Bigha as quoted in a neighbouring state.

Dakhil Kharijदाखिल खारिज

Mutation: the entry that records a transfer by sale, inheritance or partition against the holding. Until it is done the Khatauni still names the previous holder. In the hills this matters more than usual, because many parcels have passed through undocumented family divisions since the last settlement.

Bandobastबंदोबस्त

The revenue settlement: the survey that fixed the village map and the record of rights. Much of the Uttarakhand hill region has not had a fresh Bandobast in decades, so the map can predate a great deal of sub-division, terracing and building, and the sheet and the ground will disagree.

Van Panchayatवन पंचायत

A village forest council holding and managing community forest land, an institution particular to the Uttarakhand hills. Van Panchayat land is community land under the council's management rather than anyone's private holding, and a boundary question next to it is answered against the council's records as well as the revenue map.

Nazul landनजूल

Government-owned land, typically in and around towns, held on lease rather than sold outright. A Nazul plot's terms come from its lease and its renewal, so what an occupier can build, sell or mortgage is a narrower question than it is for freehold land.

Patwariपटवारी

The village revenue officer who maintains the Khatauni and the Khasra entries for a circle and holds the working copy of the village map. In the hill districts the Patwari's circle can cover a wide and scattered area, which is worth allowing for when a record has to be obtained in person.

Tehsildarतहसीलदार

The revenue officer for a tehsil, who sanctions mutations, issues certified copies of the Khatauni and decides applications the Patwari prepares. Where the record and the ground disagree, the measurement request goes here.

The full Uttarakhand guide · Tamil Nadu's glossary