Standard measurement units in India

Today let's discuss the basic and standard measurement units in India.

Land is one factor that capacitates both to raise disputes as well as develop harmony within different layers of the society. Quoting Margaret Mitchell, "Land is the only thing in the world that amounts to anything, for it's the only thing in this world that lasts. It's the only thing worth working for, worth fighting for”.

India with its vast and wide geography, values land measurement with gravity. One major reason for the same being, the difference in scope of measurement for different regions. This is synonymous with the usage of vernacular languages with their own complexities in deciphering, in different localities. That is where globally accepted land measurements start to gain momentum.

Across the globe, the units of measurement lie in a wide spectrum. So with it are the associated jargons concerning land measurements. Like the Scottish Acre, Canadian Arpent, and Californian League (legua). The significance of computation of land is such that it is basic for both buyers and sellers. It is a known fact that any dealings regarding land can only be practised after it’s quantification.

The standard unit of length is metre. Measurement is so important and experts in general vouch for taking multiple measurements and then calculating their average to be devoid of errors.

Other globally accepted land measurements include acre, square yards, hectares, and square metres. For residential real estate projects, square yards are used in particular. The square yard is also utilized as a standard unit for fixing rates by the local government. Square metres measure the land in terms of area. An acre is approximately equal to 4,840 square yards or 43,560 square feet and a hectare is equal to 1,07,639 square feet.

The Real Estate Regulatory Authority Act in India has specified Square feet to be its most standard measurement unit in India. 1 Square foot is equal to 1/9 square yards or 144 square inches. It is also approximately equal to 0.09290304 square meters. United Kingdom, Ghana, Singapore, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Myanmar and certain parts of the United States follow square feet as their basic unit for land measurement. Square yard and Square feet ars the two common types of land measurements in India.

While there are evident disparities in the units for measuring land across the world, there are also differences in land measurements locally. In India, considering regions, the way in which land is computed in South India is dissimilar to that measured in the North. Let us look through a few of them:

For instance, South Indian states like Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka use Guntha as a standard measurement unit. This is approximately 1089 square feet.

There are also other units like Ankanam in some other parts of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, which rounds upto 72 Square feet.

While coming to the North, parts of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, and Haryana make use of some other units like Biswa, which is about 50.417 square yards. Where 1 square yard is equal to 9 square feet.

Some other parts of Haryana and Punjab use Killa as a standard measurement unit. Where, 1 Killa is equal to 4840 square yards or 43560 square feet.

Parts of Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, and Haryana in North India have Ghumaon as a unit for land quantification. 1 Ghumaon is equal to 4840 square yards.

Coming to the east and western parts of India, there are various other sorts of units. Some of them are:

Lecha, used in Eastern parts of India like Assam and is equal to 144 square feet.

Indian States like West Bengal, Jharkand, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar use a unit termed Dhur. Even Dhur as a unit has two different values in two different states. For instance, in Tripura 1 Dhur is approximately equal to 3.6 Square feet while in parts of Bihar it is about 68 square feet.

Chatak is used in West Bengal and 1 Chatak is said to equal 180 square feet.

The western regions of India – taking Gujarat for example, uses Bigha as a standard measurement unit. 1 Bigha equals 17,424 square feet.

Parts of Rajasthan in Western India uses both Biswa and Biswansi as standard units of measurement. Where the calculation of Biswa differs in both upper and lower parts of Rajasthan. In the former, it is about 151.25 square yards, and the latter accounts for about 96.8 square yards. Also, 1 Biswa is said to have 20 Biswansis.

Now that we have gone over units of land measurements in the north, south, east and western regions of India in brief, we will also check them in the context of Central India. Madhya Pradesh for instance lying in the centre uses units like Kattha and Bigha. And 1 Bigha is said to have 20 Kathas.

Next thing after knowing varieties of land measuring values regionally, would be to understand how to measure the land in practical. Land in India for agricultural purposes are measured in acres. While for both planning and sales purposes, land is measured in hectares. Where 1 acre is equivalent to 0.4047 hectares. In the context of residential projects, the measurement is done in square feet. 1 hectare is equal to 1,07,639 square feet!

Measurement conversion tables are available widely both online and offline, that can help you guide in detail regarding land quantification. Area conversion tables can help convert complex units like Kanal and Marla used in places like Haryana and simplify it into easily understandable values in square feet.

For example, 1 Kanal is equivalent to 5445 square feet and 1 Marla is equal to 272.25 square feet. Similarly, length conversion tables help simplify calculations like yards into metre, where 1 yard is equal to 3 feet and 1 perch or pole into square feet, say 1 pole is equivalent to 16.5 square feet.

World-wide, there is a practise of using different kinds of units for measurement. However, standardization has helped relieve this complexity to a greater extent. We have seen here how to measure the land and the varieties of units in distinct regions of India along with the significance of conversion tables. The latter is said to make the whole process of calculation much simpler.

So that was a brief overview on ‘Standard Measurement Units in India & Land Measurement Tables’. We hope this comes to use for you practically!