Glossary of land and revenue terms

Records and identifiers

Khatian (খতিয়ান)

A holding. The record of the dags held by a particular raiyat in a mouza, with the extent of each and the share held. An RS khatian is from the Revisional Settlement; an LR khatian is prepared under the West Bengal Land Reforms Act, 1955 and is the record in current use.

Dag (দাগ)

A plot number. Identifies a piece of land on the mouza map. Also spoken of as the plot number. An RS dag and an LR dag for the same ground carry different numbers.

Mouza (মৌজা)

The revenue village; the smallest unit of survey, each with its own map.

JL number

Jurisdiction List number. The serial by which a mouza is identified within a district.

Parcha / porcha (পর্চা)

The certified extract of the record of rights issued to a holder. Both spellings are in use; they are the same document.

Record of rights (ROR)

The record maintained by the revenue authority of who holds each dag, in what share, of what class, and at what revenue. Presumptive evidence of what it records. Not a document of title.

Namjari (নামজারি)

Mutation. The substitution of a new holder’s name in the public record after a transfer.

Raiyat

The holder of land recorded as such; the person in whose name the khatian stands.

Banglarbhumi

The land records portal of the Government of West Bengal, at banglarbhumi.gov.in, through which the record of rights, mouza maps and applications for mutation and conversion are accessed.

e-Nathikaran (ই-নথীকরণ)

The web-based registration system of the Directorate of Registration and Stamp Revenue, through which deeds are assessed, registered and searched.

GRIPS

The Government Receipt Portal System, through which stamp duty, registration fees and other government receipts are paid electronically.

Query number

The reference generated when the particulars of a proposed document are entered for e-assessment, against which duty and fees are paid.

Classification of land

Sali (সালি)

Paddy land. Agricultural classification; construction is not permitted without conversion.

Suna / Sona

A class of agricultural land recorded in some districts.

Danga

Higher dry land, agricultural in classification.

Patit

Fallow land.

Bastu (বাস্তু)

Homestead land. The classification under which residential construction is permitted.

Pukur, Doba, Jalkar

Water bodies of various kinds. Subject to specific restriction; filling is prohibited or strictly controlled.

Conversion

Permission under sections 4A to 4D of the West Bengal Land Reforms Act, 1955 to change the recorded class or mode of use of land.

Rights and tenancies

Bargadar

A person who cultivates the land of another on a share of the produce. A recorded bargadar has a heritable, non-transferable right of cultivation which survives a sale of the land and can be terminated only under the Act.

Barga / Operation Barga

The recording of sharecroppers’ rights carried out under the West Bengal Land Reforms Act, 1955.

Thika tenant

A tenant who held land under a landlord in Kolkata or Howrah and erected structures on it. Land comprised in thika tenancies vested in the State with effect from 18 January 1982.

Bharatia

An occupier of a room or structure erected by a thika tenant.

Khatal

A cattle shed; a category dealt with expressly in the thika tenancy legislation.

Vested land

Land which vested in the State under the land reforms and estates acquisition legislation. Not capable of being sold by a private person.

Khas land

Land held by the State in its own right.

Debuttar

Property dedicated to a deity, administered by a shebait.

Shebait

The person who manages debuttar property, ordinarily with powers of management rather than of sale.

Mutwalli

The manager of wakf property.

Area

Areas in West Bengal records are given in local units. The Bengal bigha is not the same as the bigha used in other States, and a figure taken from a source outside West Bengal will be wrong.

Records maintained by the land and land reforms offices ordinarily state area in acres and decimals. Deeds and municipal papers in Kolkata more often use bigha, katha and chatak. A conveyance that states the area in one system and a record of rights that states it in the other should be reconciled before, not after, a transaction.

Documents and instruments

Deed of conveyance

The instrument by which ownership of immovable property is transferred for consideration.

Agreement for sale

A contract to sell. It does not by itself transfer any interest in the property.

Deed of gift

A transfer without consideration. Charged at a concessional rate where the donee is a family member specified in the schedule.

Deed of partition

The instrument by which co-owners divide property held jointly, each taking a defined share in severalty.

Deed of relinquishment / release

The instrument by which a co-owner gives up his share in favour of another co-owner.

Encumbrance certificate

A statement of the registered transactions and charges affecting a property over a stated period.

Certified copy

An attested copy of a registered document, obtained from the registration office.

Mutation certificate

The document evidencing that the applicant’s name has been substituted in the public record.

Completion certificate / occupancy certificate

The municipal certification that a building has been completed in accordance with the sanctioned plan and may be occupied.

No terms match that search.

Terms are used with local variation, and an entry in a particular record may not carry the meaning given here. This glossary is for general understanding and is not advice on the construction of any document or entry.