जमाबंदी कैसे पढ़ें — हर कॉलम, हर राज्य, चित्रों के साथ।
A jamabandi looks like a wall of columns, fractions, and Urdu-Persian revenue terms — until someone shows you the pattern. This guide decodes every column with an annotated sample document, then walks state by state through where to find your record and how each state formats it.
The word comes from Persian revenue administration: jama (जमा) — the assessed land revenue — and bandi (बंदी) — its settlement or fixing. A jamabandi is the village register that records, plot by plot, who owns the land, who cultivates it, how big it is, what kind of land it is, and what revenue it carries. Revenue officials also call it the Record of Rights (RoR); in Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan a certified extract of it is popularly called a fard (फर्द) or nakal (नक़ल).
It is prepared and maintained by the village patwari (called lekhpal in UP, talathi in Maharashtra, village accountant in Karnataka) and revised periodically — every four to five years in the Punjab–Haryana–Himachal pattern — with day-to-day changes flowing in through mutation entries in between.
A jamabandi creates a presumption of ownership — useful, official, but rebuttable. Actual title in India is established through the chain of registered documents (sale deeds, inheritance orders, gift deeds). Courts have repeatedly held that revenue entries do not by themselves confer title. So read the jamabandi to screen a plot, and verify title through registered deeds and a lawyer before any transaction.
Below is a simplified sample page modelled on the classic Punjab–Haryana–Rajasthan ledger. Real documents print up to 12 columns and the exact order shifts slightly by state, but every jamabandi in India carries these nine pieces of information. Match each numbered chip on the document to its card underneath.
| 1Khewatखेवट नं. | 2Khatauniखतौनी नं. | 3Owner & shareमालिक व हिस्सा | 4Cultivatorकाश्तकार | 5Khasra No.खसरा नं. | 6Areaरक़बा | 7Land typeक़िस्म ज़मीन | 8Revenueलगान | 9Remarksकैफ़ियत |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 | 41 | Ramesh Chand s/o Prabhu Dayal — 1/2 Suresh Chand s/o Prabhu Dayal — 1/2 |
Khud-kasht (self-cultivated) |
214/2 min | 6 bigha 13 biswa |
Chahi (well-irrigated) |
₹128 | इंतकाल नं. 1892, बै (sale), दर्ज 14-03-2024 — तसदीक़ बाक़ी |
| 24 | 42 | — same khewat — | Mohan Lal s/o Kishan (tenant, chakota) |
216 | 3 bigha 04 biswa |
Barani (rain-fed) |
₹54 | — |
Fig. 1 — A representative jamabandi page. The red-ink line in column 9 is the single most important thing on the whole page (explained below).
One number per ownership group in the village. All plots owned by the same set of people sit under one khewat.
Check: does the seller's name appear under this khewat?Sub-account under a khewat for whoever actually tills the land — the owner, a tenant, or a sharecropper.
Check: "khud-kasht" means owner-cultivated; a tenant name means occupancy rights may exist.Names with parentage and each person's fractional share (1/2, 3/8…). Joint holdings are the norm, not the exception.
Check: do all fractions add up to 1? Is every legal heir reflected?Who possesses and farms the plot this fasli year, and on what basis (self, rent/chakota, batai).
Check: long-standing non-owner cultivators can claim tenancy protections in some states.The plot's survey number on the village map (shajra). A slash like 214/2 means plot 214 was subdivided.
Check: khasra here must match the sale deed and the map exactly.Plot size in local units — bigha-biswa in Rajasthan, kanal-marla in Punjab/Haryana, hectares on newer computerised records.
Check: convert to one unit and compare with what the seller claims.Soil/irrigation class: chahi (well), nehri (canal), barani (rain-fed), banjar (fallow), gair mumkin (non-cultivable — roads, houses, ponds).
Check: "gair mumkin" land cannot simply be farmed or priced like farmland.Assessed land revenue and cesses for the holding — tiny amounts today, but the column proves the holding is on the revenue roll.
Check: in Bihar, unpaid lagaan against a jamabandi is a live red flag.Where change lives: mutation (intkal) numbers, court orders, liens, acquisition notes — traditionally entered in red ink.
Check: every red entry. Ask for the mutation order it points to.Patwaris record pending or newly sanctioned changes in red ink in the remarks column. Red means: "something changed after this jamabandi was written." A sale, an inheritance, a mortgage, a court stay. In our sample, intkal no. 1892 records a sale on 14-03-2024 that is दर्ज (entered) but still तसदीक़ बाक़ी (verification pending). If you buy relying only on the black-ink columns, you may be buying from yesterday's owner. Always trace every red entry to its mutation order before money moves.
Jamabandis still speak the Urdu-Persian of colonial revenue settlements. These fifteen cover 95% of what you will meet.
The village Record of Rights, revised every 4–5 years in most northern states.
A certified extract of the jamabandi for one khewat or khasra — what banks and registrars ask for.
Owner account number. Also called khata in Rajasthan, Bihar, and UP records.
Cultivator account under a khewat. (In UP, "khatauni" is the name of the whole record.)
Individual plot/survey number on the village map. Equivalent of gat/survey no. (Maharashtra), dag no. (Assam/Bengal).
Area of the plot, in bigha-biswa, kanal-marla, or hectares.
The official entry transferring a record after sale, death, or partition. Numbered, datable, traceable.
Assessed land revenue on the holding.
The patwari's twice-yearly crop and possession inspection register — your cross-check on who actually occupies the plot.
The village cadastral map showing every khasra's shape and neighbours.
"Self-cultivated" — owner and cultivator are the same. The cleanest thing to see in column 4.
Well-irrigated / canal-irrigated / rain-fed — the classic land-quality classes.
Fallow land. Banjar jadid = recently fallow; banjar kadim = long fallow.
Land impossible to cultivate — abadi (habitation), roads, wells, ponds. Different rules, different value.
"Part of" — khasra 214/2 min means only a portion of subdivided plot 214/2 is covered by this entry.
Confirm village, tehsil, district, and the fasli/record year. A perfectly genuine jamabandi from the wrong village or a superseded year has misled many buyers.
Locate the owner account you care about, then read which khataunis (cultivating arrangements) hang under it. Owner ≠ possessor is a signal, not a technicality.
Tick each khasra against the sale papers and the shajra map. Convert the raqba into one unit (acres or sq. metres) and total it. Watch for "min" entries — they mean partial plots.
Multiply each owner's fraction by the total area to know exactly how much land each person can lawfully sell. A seller with a 1/2 share in 6 bigha 13 biswa can transfer roughly 3 bigha 6.5 biswa — not the whole field.
List every intkal number and red-ink note. Pull each mutation order, check whether it is sanctioned or pending, and reconcile with the latest girdawari. Only then does the record "close".
The raqba column is written in whatever unit the state's settlement used — and the same word can mean different sizes in different states. A Rajasthan pucca bigha, a UP bigha, and a Bengal bigha are all different. Two ladders cover most jamabandi states:
Don't hand-convert in the tehsil corridor. Use a land area converter (AgriZameen's free bilingual converter app handles bigha, biswa, kanal, marla, acre, hectare, sq ft, and sq m for exactly this moment) and cross-check totals against the record.
When a plot is partitioned — among heirs, or by sale of a portion — the parent khasra number splits into numbered children. Each child then lives its own life in the jamabandi: its own area, its own owners, sometimes its own disputes. A slash is a partition story compressed into punctuation.
Seven states use the word jamabandi for their Record of Rights. Everywhere else, the same information travels under a local name. First the jamabandi states in detail, then a master table for the rest of India.
How to pull it: choose district → tehsil → village, then search by khata (khewat), khasra, or owner name. An informational nakal is free to view; an e-signed certified copy is issued for a small fee and is what banks accept.
How to read it: Rajasthan records lead with the khata number, then list khasras with raqba in bigha–biswa (hectares on newer prints). Land type appears as chahi / nehri / barani. Mutations are tracked as namantaran (नामांतरण) — check the portal's mutation status alongside the nakal.
Rajasthan quirks: bigha here comes in pucca (~0.625 acre) and kachha variants by region; peripheral notes may reference the girdawari, which you can also view online. Urban-fringe plots near master-plan zones deserve an extra check of land-use status — the jamabandi will still call them agricultural.
How to pull it: Jamabandi Nakal option → select district/tehsil/village/jamabandi year → search by owner, khewat, khatauni, or khasra. The same portal shows mutation (intkal) status and registered deed details.
How to read it: the full 12-column Punjab-school format — khewat and khatauni up front, cultivator and irrigation source in the middle, revenue and rate columns, remarks last. Areas run in kanal–marla. The record is revised every 5 years; between revisions, everything important happens in the remarks column.
Haryana quirks: because the portal links deeds ↔ mutations ↔ jamabandi, you can trace a red-ink intkal number end-to-end online — do it before visiting the tehsil.
How to pull it: Punjab Land Records Society portal → Jamabandi → search by owner name, khewat, khatauni, or khasra. Certified fard copies can be applied for online or at Fard Kendras.
How to read it: identical skeleton to Haryana (this is the original template): 12 columns, kanal–marla areas, 5-yearly revision, red-ink intkal notes. Older records may be in Urdu script — Fard Kendra staff or the patwari can transliterate.
Punjab quirks: watch column 4 closely; tenancy entries (occupancy tenants) carry real legal weight here.
How to pull it: HimBhoomi → select district/tehsil/village → view jamabandi nakal by khewat/khasra; shajra (map) view is also offered.
How to read it: Punjab-pattern columns and kanal–marla units. Hill records add plot-level notes on terraces and kism (class) that affect usability more than area does.
HP quirks: Section 118 of the HP Tenancy & Land Reforms Act restricts non-agriculturists from buying farmland — the cleanest jamabandi cannot fix an ineligible buyer, so check eligibility first.
How to pull it: "Jamabandi Panji Dekhein" → district → circle (anchal) → halka → mauza → search by jamabandi number, khata, plot, or raiyat name.
How to read it: Bihar's jamabandi is a rent-roll of holdings: each raiyat's jamabandi number, khata and khesra (plot) numbers, area in acre–decimal, and lagaan payable. Pair it with the khatiyan (the older RoR) for parentage of title.
Bihar quirks: the jamabandi number is the key to paying lagaan online and to mutation; unpaid rent or a "digitised with error" flag on the portal must be resolved before any deal. Many old entries carry spelling variants — match father's name, not just the raiyat's.
How to pull it: "Panji-II / Register-II" (the jamabandi) → district → anchal → mauza → search by khata or plot number; online lagaan payment sits beside it.
How to read it: khata number, plot (khesra) numbers, rakba in acre–decimal, raiyat names, and rent. Cross-read with the khatiyan for original settlement rights.
Jharkhand quirks: CNT/SPT Act protections restrict transfer of tribal land — the register often flags the raiyat's category; treat that column as decisive, not decorative.
How to pull it: ILRMS "Dharitree" → district → circle → village → view jamabandi by dag number (plot) or patta number (holding).
How to read it: Assam pairs every entry as patta ↔ dag: patta type (periodic vs annual) matters enormously — periodic patta is heritable and transferable, annual patta is far weaker. Areas run in bigha–katha–lessa.
Assam quirks: always read the patta class before anything else; a beautiful plot on an annual patta is a different asset altogether.
Reading skills transfer directly — find the owner account, the plot number, the area, and the mutation trail. Only the labels change.
| State / UT | The jamabandi equivalent | Official portal | Reading note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Uttar Pradesh | Khatauni (RoR) | upbhulekh.gov.in | Khata + gata/khasra numbers; area in hectares; 12-digit unique gata codes on new records. |
| Uttarakhand | Khatauni | bhulekh.uk.gov.in | UP-pattern record; check ceiling & hill land-purchase limits for outsiders. |
| Madhya Pradesh | Khasra / B-1 Khatauni | mpbhulekh.gov.in | B-1 lists the holding; khasra copy gives plot detail; free "view" vs paid certified copy. |
| Chhattisgarh | B-1 / P-II (khasra) | bhuiyan.cg.nic.in | Same MP lineage; digital B-1 and khasra downloadable. |
| Maharashtra | 7/12 Utara (Satbara) | bhulekh.mahabhumi.gov.in | Form 7 = ownership & rights; Form 12 = crops. "Other rights" column = the remarks column — read it like red ink. |
| Gujarat | 7/12, 8A & 6 | anyror.gujarat.gov.in | 7/12 for the plot, 8A for the owner's khata, Entry 6 for the mutation register. |
| Karnataka | RTC / Pahani | landrecords.karnataka.gov.in (Bhoomi) | RTC = Record of Rights, Tenancy & Crops; mutation register (MR) numbers do the red-ink job. |
| Tamil Nadu | Patta & Chitta / A-Register | eservices.tn.gov.in | Patta = ownership account; chitta merged into patta; survey/subdivision no. = khasra. |
| Andhra Pradesh | Adangal / 1-B | meebhoomi.ap.gov.in | 1-B = ownership register; adangal = cultivation record (the girdawari analogue). |
| Telangana | Pahani / RoR | dharani.telangana.gov.in | Dharani merges record + registration; pattadar passbook number is the key. |
| West Bengal | Khatian (RoR) | banglarbhumi.gov.in | Khatian no. = owner account; dag no. = plot; check "classification" for bastu vs sali (agri). |
| Odisha | RoR | bhulekh.ori.nic.in | Khata + plot pattern, acre–decimal areas; tenancy remarks matter in scheduled areas. |
| Kerala | Thandaper (via ReLIS) | relis.kerala.gov.in | Thandaper = owner account; survey/re-survey numbers = plots; pokkuvaravu = mutation. |
| Goa | Form I & XIV | dslr.goa.gov.in | Occupant + tenant columns mirror khewat/khatauni; check "other rights". |
| Delhi | Khatauni / RoR | dlrc.delhi.gov.in (Bhulekh Delhi) | Urbanised villages: confirm whether land has been notified out of revenue records. |
Every state portal, whatever its skin, follows the same five moves:
Type the gov.in address yourself (table above). Avoid ad-heavy lookalike sites that resell free records.
District → tehsil/taluka/circle → village (mauza). Keep the spelling flexible — records often use older village spellings.
Khewat/khata, khasra/survey/dag number, or owner name. A number search is far more reliable than a name search.
The on-screen nakal is for reading. For banks, courts, or registration, order the e-signed/certified copy (small fee) or collect a signed fard from the tehsil.
Download the mutation status/register for the same khasra, plus the girdawari where offered. One PDF is a snapshot; the set is a story.