Land UnitsBoth states measure land with the same family of units. The Government of India land records data standard sets out the Haryana chain in three stages, because the units changed when villages were settled and consolidated.
After settlement: karam, sarsahi, marla, kanal
- 1 karam = 66 inches
- 1 sarsahi = 1 karam × 1 karam
- 9 sarsahi = 1 marla
- 20 marla = 1 kanal
- 8 kanal = 1 acre (ghuman)
- 1 acre = 36 karam × 40 karam
This is the system in use today. In square feet: sarsahi 30.25, marla 272.25, kanal 5,445, acre 43,560.
Before settlement: biswansi, biswa, bigha
- 1 karam = 57.157 inches
- 1 biswansi = 1 karam × 1 karam
- 20 biswansi = 1 biswa
- 20 biswa = 1 bigha
- 4 bigha 16 biswa = 1 acre
From the last line, this bigha is 43,560 ÷ 4.8 = 9,075 square feet. The standard also notes a "government settlement" stage in which 4 bigha made one kila of 40 karam by 40 karam, with the same short karam. That kila works out to about 36,300 square feet, a little less than an acre, so do not mix it up with today's killa.
Reading a record
Area in a jamabandi or fard is written kanal-marla, for example 15-7 or 15K-7M: 15 kanal 7 marla. Our guide on reading kanal-marla entries shows how to add and convert them.
Punjab
The data standard labels these lines "Haryana". Punjab's revenue system offers the same units: its land demarcation form lists acre, kanal, marla, bigha, biswa and biswansi. We could not open Punjab's own conversion table on the day we checked, so for Punjab treat the values here as the common standard and confirm the karam in your own record. Some older areas used a different karam.
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.
Questions people ask
What is 1 sarsahi (square karam) in square feet?
1 sarsahi (square karam) is 30.25 square feet (3.3611 square yards). Source: the Government of India land records data standard.
What is 1 marla in square feet?
1 marla is 272.25 square feet (30.25 square yards). Source: the Government of India land records data standard.
What is 1 kanal in square feet?
1 kanal is 5,445 square feet (605 square yards). Source: the Government of India land records data standard.
What is 1 killa (ghuman) in square feet?
1 killa (ghuman) is 43,560 square feet (4,840 square yards). Source: the Government of India land records data standard.
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