Patwari & Land Record Terms

A Fard is a certified extract from the Jamabandi showing ownership and land details for one specific khasra or khewat.

Jamabandi is the master Record of Rights register for an entire village, revised on a fixed cycle by the Patwari.

A Khasra number is the unique ID given to a single field or plot of land in the village land records.

Khewat is the ownership account grouping khasra numbers under one or more co-owners; Khatauni is the linked cultivation account.

Intkal, or mutation, is the official record of a change of land ownership due to sale, inheritance, gift or court order.

Girdawari is the twice-yearly field inspection by the Patwari recording actual crop, cultivation and possession status.

A Tatima is a scaled sketch map showing how a specific field is subdivided among owners or after a partial sale.

A Nakal is a certified true copy of a revenue record — Jamabandi, mutation or Girdawari — issued for legal or official use.

Fard and Jamabandi both come from the same land record — here's the exact difference between them and when to use each.

Lal Dora is the red line drawn around a village's inhabited area, separating houses from the surrounding agricultural khasra land.

Shajra is the master cadastral map of a village showing the boundary and khasra number of every field.

A Patta is a lease or grant document giving someone occupancy rights over government or panchayat land, short of full ownership.

Wajib-ul-Arz is the village administration paper recording customary rights — shared paths, water use and grazing — not individual ownership.

Shamlat Deh is village common land — ponds, grazing grounds, roads and other shared land — owned collectively rather than by one person.

Roznamcha is the Patwari's daily diary recording field visits, applications received and events — the first place a mutation gets logged.

Kanal, Marla, Sarsahi and Biswa are the traditional land-measurement units used in Punjab and Haryana revenue records, alongside acres and square feet.

Registry is the deed proving a transaction happened; Jamabandi is the revenue record proving who the government currently recognizes as owner.