Someone offers you "5 bigha" of land. Is that a small plot or a small farm? The honest answer is: it depends entirely on which state you're standing in. In Uttar Pradesh those 5 bigha could be over 1,35,000 sq ft. In the hills of Uttarakhand, the same "5 bigha" might be around 34,000 sq ft — a quarter of the size.
This is one of the most confusing — and most expensive — things about buying land in India. Let's clear it up.
Why one bigha isn't one fixed size
Units like acre, hectare and square feet are standardised — an acre is 43,560 sq ft whether you're in Punjab or Kerala. But bigha, katha, biswa and their cousins are traditional units, and they were never standardised nationally. Each region kept the size its revenue records had used for generations, and colonial-era administrations codified different values for different districts.
So the same word means different areas in different places. It's not an error — it's history baked into the land records. Which is exactly why, before any deal, you have to know the local value.
State-wise bigha in square feet
Here are the commonly used values. Treat them as a starting point for an estimate — always confirm the exact figure with the local revenue office for a real transaction.
| State | 1 Bigha ≈ (sq ft) |
|---|---|
| Uttar Pradesh (pukka) | 27,000 |
| Bihar | 27,220 |
| Rajasthan (pukka) | 27,225 |
| Jharkhand | 27,220 |
| Gujarat | 17,424 |
| West Bengal | 14,400 |
| Assam | 14,400 |
| Madhya Pradesh | 12,000 |
| Himachal Pradesh | 8,712 |
| Uttarakhand (hill) | 6,804 |
Notice the range: from about 6,800 sq ft to over 27,000 sq ft. A four-fold difference for the same word.
Punjab and Haryana — a special case
In Punjab and Haryana, the bigha is genuinely disputed — different sources quote anywhere from 9,070 to 21,780 sq ft. That's why serious land dealing in these states uses kanal and marla, which are fixed: 1 kanal = 5,445 sq ft and 1 marla = 272.25 sq ft (8 kanal = 1 acre). If a Punjab or Haryana plot is quoted in bigha, ask for it in kanal/marla or square feet instead.
Pukka vs kaccha bigha
In several states — notably UP, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand — there are two bighas. The pukka (or pakka) bigha is the larger, standard one. The kaccha bigha, used more in informal and agricultural deals, is often around half the size. In UP the kaccha bigha is roughly 13,600 sq ft against the pukka 27,000.
This is a classic trap: a price quoted "per bigha" sounds like a great deal until you realise it's a kaccha bigha and you're getting half the land. Always ask which bigha is being used, and get the area in square feet on the paperwork.
The units that don't change
When in doubt, fall back on the units that mean the same thing everywhere:
- Gaj (square yard) — 1 gaj = 9 sq ft, always. A "100 gaj plot" is 900 sq ft anywhere in India. This is the safest small unit in the North.
- Acre — 43,560 sq ft. 1 acre = 40 guntha = 100 cent.
- Hectare — 2.47 acres. This is the unit on most modern legal records.
- Guntha — 1,089 sq ft (Maharashtra, Karnataka, the Deccan). 40 guntha = 1 acre.
- Cent — 435.6 sq ft (South India). 100 cent = 1 acre.
If a seller quotes a traditional unit, ask them to also state the area in square feet or square metres — those are what the registry will use anyway.
Regional units at a glance
India's land vocabulary changes as you travel:
- North (UP, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, HP): bigha, biswa, kanal, marla.
- East (Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, Assam, Jharkhand): katha, decimal, dhur, bigha. In most of these, 20 katha = 1 bigha — but Assam uses 5 katha per bigha.
- South (Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra, Telangana): cent, ground (2,400 sq ft, mainly Chennai), guntha, ankanam (~72 sq ft).
- West/Central (Maharashtra, Gujarat, MP, Chhattisgarh): guntha, vigha/bigha.
How to convert safely
- Identify the state first. This single step decides the bigha/katha value. Our Land Area Converter asks for your state and then converts instantly.
- Ask pukka or kaccha if the state has both. Don't assume.
- Get the area in square feet on any document — it's unambiguous.
- Cross-check the price by converting the rate too. If land is "₹2,000 per gaj", that's a very different total from "₹2,000 per sq ft" — the converter can show the rate in each unit so you compare like with like.
- Confirm with the revenue office (patwari / tehsildar) before you sign. No online tool, including ours, replaces the official record.
Quick checklist
- ✅ Know the state's local bigha value
- ✅ Ask whether it's pukka or kaccha
- ✅ Insist on square feet (or sq m) on the paperwork
- ✅ Convert the rate, not just the area, before comparing plots
- ✅ Verify with the local revenue office before any deal
Land is usually the biggest purchase of someone's life. Ten minutes spent getting the units right is the cheapest insurance you'll ever buy.