Land Measurement in Odisha

Land measurement in Odisha is simple compared to most states: land is measured in acre and decimal. 1 decimal (डिसमिल, also called dismil) = 435.6 sq ft, and 100 decimal = 1 acre = 43,560 sq ft. Bigha and katha are not in common use in Odisha.

Land units used in Odisha

The acre, decimal and hectare values are fixed. The guntha value of 1,089 sq ft for Odisha comes from a single converter guide. It matches the guntha used in the Deccan states, but we could not confirm it for Odisha from a better source. One source also gave a biswa value for Odisha, which we left out because nothing else supports it.

Old Odia measures: mana and bati

Older people in coastal villages may still speak of mana (ମାଣ) and bati (ବାଟି). Old copper plate records describe 20 mana as 1 bati, and one old record ties a mana to 25 guntha. But a state history journal notes that these sizes changed from period to period. One old Odia dictionary treats a mana as about an acre, and bati sizes from 4.5 to 20 acres are quoted for different times. Because no fixed modern value exists, this page does not convert mana or bati to square feet. If an old family paper uses them, ask the tahasil office how that land appears in the current record.

Chain of units

• 1 decimal = 435.6 sq ft = 48.4 gaj
• 100 decimal = 1 acre
• 1 guntha = 2.5 decimal, and 40 guntha = 1 acre
• 1 hectare = 2.4711 acre = 247.1 decimal (about)

Official records and portal

Odisha land records are published on Bhulekh Odisha, run under the Board of Revenue. The Record of Rights (RoR, also called khatiyan or patta) gives the area of each plot in the rakaba column. The area is shown in acre and decimal, with the hectare figure also given. For any sale, the area in the RoR is the figure that matters.

How to read land size in Odisha records

An area such as 0.25 acre in the RoR means 25 decimal. Work it out like this:

1. 0.25 acre x 100 = 25 decimal
2. 25 decimal x 435.6 = 10,890 sq ft
3. 10,890 sq ft / 9 = 1,210 gaj

If only the hectare figure is given, multiply by 2.4711 to get acres. For example, 0.1 hectare = 0.2471 acre = 24.7105 decimal, or about 10,764 sq ft. For quick work, use our decimal to square feet converter or hectare to decimal converter.

Plot sizes in decimal

• 2 decimal = 871.2 sq ft
• 5 decimal = 2,178 sq ft
• 10 decimal = 4,356 sq ft
• A 1,200 sq ft plot = 2.7548 decimal

Common mistakes

• Reading 0.5 acre as 5 decimal. It is 50 decimal. Each 0.01 acre is 1 decimal.
• Using a Bengal or Bihar katha in Odisha. Odisha deals and records are in decimal, so a katha figure has no fixed meaning here.
• Converting mana or bati with an online figure. These old units had no single size.
• Rounding hectares to 2.5 acres. The exact figure is 2.4711 acre.

This page explains common practice and is not an official source. For a sale, partition or court matter, confirm the area with the tahasil office or the Revenue Inspector, and check the RoR on Bhulekh Odisha.