Plain Words
This glossary explains the land words you'll meet around Bangalore farmland in plain language: acres and guntas, survey and hissa numbers, land classes, the RTC or Pahani, the EC and khata, and Karnataka's two monsoon seasons. Each answer cites an official source and shows a worked example.
All six words on one page, with the worked examples and sources. Free PDF.
Plain Words 01
Someone describes a plot as 20 guntas. Everyone else nods. You do the maths later, quietly, on your phone.
An acre is 40 guntas. One gunta is 1,089 sq ft and one acre is 43,560 sq ft. The gunta is the unit used in Karnataka land records and RTC documents. Across the Tamil Nadu border, land is often counted in cents: 100 cents make an acre, and one cent is 435.6 sq ft.
Example: A plot described as 20 guntas is 20 × 1,089 = 21,780 sq ft, which is half an acre. The same half acre is 50 cents.
Figures: OAF Land Unit Converter (1 acre = 40 guntas = 43,560 sq ft = 100 cents; 1 gunta = 1,089 sq ft; 1 cent = 435.6 sq ft).
Convert any size in the Land Unit Converter
A plot's size on paper is only useful if the paper is right. Before we take on a piece of land, we trace its old records and legal history, back through the families who sold it, and check that the documents are correct. We only work in areas where we have direct connections in the local villages and towns, with people we know personally, so we can cross-check the records against what the people there know. Experienced law firms then carry out the full legal due diligence on the documents.
Plain Words 02
You're handed a land record. Near the top is a number like 45/2. Nobody stops to explain it.
In Karnataka, land records list each parcel by its survey number. When a survey number is officially split, each part gets its own hissa number, written after the slash. So 45/2 means hissa 2 of survey number 45. The survey that makes a split official is called podi, also spelt phodi.
Example: 45/2 = survey number 45, hissa 2. (45/2 is an illustration of the pattern, not a real parcel.)
Sources: Bhoomi (RTC lookup fields: survey number, hissa) and Bhoomojini (podi sketch, podi survey requests), Revenue Department, Govt of Karnataka; Karnataka Land Revenue Act, 1964.
Every parcel we look at starts as a survey number on an old record. Before we take on a piece of land, we trace its old records and legal history, back through the families who sold it, and check that the documents are correct. We only work in areas where we have direct connections in the local villages and towns, with people we know personally, so we can cross-check the records against what the people there know. Experienced law firms then carry out the full legal due diligence on the documents.
Plain Words 03
Someone calls a piece of land tari, and everyone else seems to know exactly what kind of land that means.
Karnataka's land law sorts farmland into classes such as dry, wet and garden land. In everyday use, khushki is dry land, usually rain-fed; tari is wet land, where paddy can grow; and bagayat is garden land. The Act also names plantation land, for crops such as coffee, tea, pepper, cardamom and rubber.
Example: If a seller describes a field as khushki, they mean dry land that usually depends on rain. Across the border, Tamil Nadu records use Nanjai for wet land and Punjai for dry; rain-fed dry land is recorded as Manavari.
Classes: Karnataka Land Revenue Act, 1964, s.2(8). Local terms: common usage. Tamil Nadu terms: Tamil Nadu government gazettes.
How a piece of land is recorded is part of its history, and its history is where we start. Before we take on a piece of land, we trace its old records and legal history, back through the families who sold it, and check that the documents are correct. We only work in areas where we have direct connections in the local villages and towns, with people we know personally, so we can cross-check the records against what the people there know. Experienced law firms then carry out the full legal due diligence on the documents.
Plain Words 04
Someone mentions the Pahani in passing. You've heard the word before, but nobody ever said what it is.
Pahani is the everyday name for the RTC: the Record of Rights, Tenancy and Crops. It is a land record kept by Karnataka's Revenue Department that describes a piece of farmland, and you can view it on Bhoomi. On Bhoomi it is looked up by district, taluk, hobli, village, survey number and hissa.
Example: To look up the RTC for 45/2 in a village, you would choose the district, taluk, hobli and village, then enter survey number 45 and hissa 2. (Lookup fields as shown on Bhoomi in a March 2024 capture.)
Sources: Bhoomi, Revenue Department, Govt of Karnataka (landrecords.karnataka.gov.in); Karnataka Land Revenue Act, 1964.
A land record tells you what the land is today. We also want to know how it got there. Before we take on a piece of land, we trace its old records and legal history, back through the families who sold it, and check that the documents are correct. We only work in areas where we have direct connections in the local villages and towns, with people we know personally, so we can cross-check the records against what the people there know. Experienced law firms then carry out the full legal due diligence on the documents.
Plain Words 05
EC and khata get said in the same breath, so it's easy to assume they're the same kind of paper.
The EC, or Encumbrance Certificate, lists the documents registered on a property for a period you choose; in Karnataka you can get it online through Kaveri. Khata is the account a property is recorded under. For town property the local body keeps it, for property tax. For farmland, the khata number is on the RTC.
Example: An EC request names the property and a date range, and the certificate lists what was registered on it in that period. A town flat's khata sits with the local body; a farm plot's khata number appears on its RTC.
Sources: Department of Stamps and Registration, Govt of Karnataka (Kaveri 2.0); Registration Act, 1908; BBMP (e-Aasthi); DoLR, Evaluation of Quality of Land Records: Karnataka (draft for discussion).
Papers like these are where our work on a piece of land begins. Before we take on a piece of land, we trace its old records and legal history, back through the families who sold it, and check that the documents are correct. We only work in areas where we have direct connections in the local villages and towns, with people we know personally, so we can cross-check the records against what the people there know. Experienced law firms then carry out the full legal due diligence on the documents.
Plain Words 06
A Karnataka crop update mentions Hingaru, and you read straight past the word.
Mungaru and Hingaru are the Kannada names for Karnataka's two monsoon seasons. Mungaru is the southwest monsoon, June to September; its crop season is kharif. Hingaru is the northeast monsoon, October to December; its crop season is rabi, grown largely on leftover soil moisture and these later rains.
Example: A crop report in November talking about Hingaru sowing refers to the rabi season, in the October–December window. The months are standard windows; actual rains start and stop on different dates each year.
Seasons: KSNDMC; UAS Dharwad; Department of Agriculture, Karnataka.
Want all six on one page?
A gunta is the land unit used in Karnataka land records and RTC documents. One gunta is 1,089 sq ft, and 40 guntas make an acre.
A cent is a land unit common across the Tamil Nadu border. 100 cents make an acre; one cent is 435.6 sq ft.
An acre is 43,560 sq ft, or 40 guntas, or 100 cents.
Pahani is the everyday name for the RTC: the Record of Rights, Tenancy and Crops. It is a land record kept by Karnataka's Revenue Department that describes a piece of farmland, and you can view it on Bhoomi.
The EC, or Encumbrance Certificate, lists the documents registered on a property for a period you choose; in Karnataka you can get it online through Kaveri.
Patta is the Tamil Nadu land record that shows the recorded owner, survey number, extent and classification.
Khata is the account a property is recorded under. For town property the local body keeps it, for property tax. For farmland, the khata number is on the RTC.
The Mutation Register is a revenue department record that tracks the transfer of land ownership from one person to another. When farmland is sold and registered, the mutation record is updated by the Village Assistant Revenue Inspector (VAI) in the local land records. The mutation extract shows: current owner's name, extent, survey number, and the date of the last transfer.
Sections 79A and 79B of the Karnataka Land Reforms Act, 1961, previously restricted farmland purchases to persons with agricultural income in Karnataka. Section 79A required buyers to derive income from agriculture, and Section 79B imposed a ceiling on land ownership. These sections were repealed by the Karnataka Land Reforms (Amendment) Act, 2020. Eligibility depends on your situation; our team walks you through it on a call.
The Mother Deed — also called the Parent Deed or Original Deed — is the earliest sale deed or government grant document that traces the beginning of the ownership chain for a piece of land. Every subsequent sale deed links back to the Mother Deed through a continuous chain.
A managed farm at One Acre Farms means you own the land and our team looks after it.
Managed farmland is agricultural land where a professional farm management company handles day-to-day operations on behalf of the landowner. Services typically include: soil preparation, irrigation management, crop selection and planting, fertiliser and pest management, harvesting, and produce offtake. A managed farm at One Acre Farms means you own the land and our team looks after it.
Permaculture is a holistic farming approach that designs agricultural systems to mimic natural ecosystems — self-sustaining, diverse, and regenerative. Key permaculture principles include: diverse crop layering (trees, shrubs, ground cover), water harvesting via swales and ponds, composting and recycling of nutrients, and minimal external inputs.
Disclaimer: Definitions only, for general understanding. Not legal advice. Eligibility depends on your situation; our team walks you through it on a call.
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