How to read kanal-marla area in a jamabandi or fard

If you hold a jamabandi, fard or registry from Haryana or Punjab, the area column has two numbers joined by a dash, such as 15-7, or written 15K-7M. This guide shows how to read and use them.

What the two numbers mean

The first number is kanal, the second is marla. So 15-7 is 15 kanal 7 marla. There are 20 marla in a kanal, so the marla number is never more than 19. Some records add a third number for sarsahi; 9 sarsahi make a marla.

Change it to one unit first

For any sum, turn the area into marla: kanal × 20 + marla. For 15-7 that is 15 × 20 + 7 = 307 marla.

Adding two areas

Add 15-7 and 8-16. Marla: 7 + 16 = 23, which is 1 kanal 3 marla. Kanal: 15 + 8 + 1 = 24. The answer is 24-3. It works like adding hours and minutes, with 20 in place of 60.

Finding a share

Records show each owner's share as a fraction, such as 1/3 share of 24-3. Change to marla: 24 × 20 + 3 = 483. One third is 161 marla. Change back: 161 ÷ 20 = 8 kanal, remainder 1 marla. The share is 8-1.

Changing to acres, gaj and square feet

Acres: marla ÷ 160. So 483 marla is 3.02 acres, or 3 killa and 3 marla.
Square yards (gaj): marla × 30.25. So 161 marla is 4,870.25 gaj.
Square feet: marla × 272.25. So 161 marla is 43,832.25 square feet.

These use the 66 inch karam of the Government of India land records data standard. The converter does the same sums for any number.

Killa numbers are not areas

A record also lists khasra or killa numbers such as 12//5. These are the names of fields, not sizes. The size is only in the area column.

Check before you sign

Total the areas of all the fields in the deed yourself and compare with the total written in words. A slip of one kanal is 605 square yards of land.

For a sale, a loan or a court paper, go by your own revenue record. Local units can differ between districts and between old and new records. The sizes here were read in the official documents named under Sources on 11 November 2026. This site is not a government site and gives no legal advice.

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Sources

Meta Data and Data Standards (MDDS), Annexure IV, code directory CD00.01 Measurement units, Table 1.3 Conversion Factors. Ministry of Electronics and IT, Government of India; the table credits the Department of Land Resources. Open the document