Karnataka land records measure agricultural extent in acres and guntas. One gunta is 1,089 square feet, and 40 guntas make one acre — so an acre is 43,560 square feet. Urban plots are quoted in square feet, occasionally in square yards, and government records sometimes carry hectares alongside. Four systems describing the same ground.
The conversions themselves are arithmetic. What causes real problems is notation: an extent written as "2-15" on an RTC means two acres and fifteen guntas, not two and fifteen hundredths of an acre. Reading it as a decimal understates the parcel by a third. This page gives the tables, then covers the notation and the reasons the sketch and the record legitimately disagree.
The core conversions
| Unit | Equals | In square feet |
|---|---|---|
| 1 gunta | 1/40 acre | 1,089 sq ft |
| 1 acre | 40 guntas | 43,560 sq ft |
| 1 hectare | 2.471 acres | 107,639 sq ft |
| 1 cent | 1/100 acre | 435.6 sq ft |
| 1 square yard (gaz) | 9 sq ft | 9 sq ft |
| 1 anna (where used) | 1/16 of the local unit | varies — confirm locally |
The two numbers worth memorising are 1,089 and 40. Guntas to square feet is × 1,089; guntas to acres is ÷ 40. Everything else follows from those.
Gunta to square feet, at a glance
| Guntas | Square feet | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1,089 | 0.025 |
| 2 | 2,178 | 0.05 |
| 5 | 5,445 | 0.125 |
| 10 | 10,890 | 0.25 |
| 15 | 16,335 | 0.375 |
| 20 | 21,780 | 0.5 |
| 25 | 27,225 | 0.625 |
| 30 | 32,670 | 0.75 |
| 35 | 38,115 | 0.875 |
| 40 | 43,560 | 1.0 |
For a mixed extent, convert the acres and the guntas separately and add. Two acres fifteen guntas is (2 × 43,560) + (15 × 1,089) = 87,120 + 16,335 = 103,455 square feet, or 2.375 acres.
How extents are written, and the mistake everyone makes
| What you see | What it means | Common misreading |
|---|---|---|
| 2-15 | 2 acres 15 guntas (2.375 ac) | Read as 2.15 acres — understates by 0.225 ac |
| 0-20 | 20 guntas (half an acre) | Read as 0.20 acres — understates by 40% |
| 1-00 | Exactly 1 acre | Usually read correctly |
| 3-35 | 3 acres 35 guntas (3.875 ac) | Read as 3.35 acres |
| 2.375 | Already decimal acres | Read as 2 acres 375 guntas — impossible, but seen |
The second number in a hyphenated extent can never exceed 39. If you see something like "2-47", it is not acres and guntas — check what units the document is actually using before doing anything else.
This is not a pedantic point. Extent drives price, drives stamp duty, and drives whether the parcel you inspected is the parcel described in the deed. A one-third error in extent is a one-third error in everything downstream.
Converting an extent from the record
- 1Read the extent from the current RTC exactly as written, including the hyphen. Do not round and do not reformat it.
- 2Identify the notation. Hyphenated means acres and guntas. A plain decimal means decimal acres. If the second number exceeds 39, stop — the units are not what you assumed.
- 3Convert the acres: multiply by 43,560 for square feet.
- 4Convert the guntas: multiply by 1,089 for square feet.
- 5Add the two to get the total in square feet, and divide by 43,560 if you want decimal acres.
- 6Compare the result against the extent on the survey sketch from Mojini and against the extent recited in the sale deed. Three sources, one number — reconcile them before you rely on any of them.
- 7For urban plots, work in square feet throughout and confirm whether a quoted area is plot area or built-up area. They are different numbers and sellers move between them.
Why the record and the sketch disagree
Small differences between the RTC extent and the survey sketch are normal. Understanding why tells you when to worry.
- Manual transcription. Extents were carried forward by hand across generations of registers before digitisation, and rounding accumulated at each step.
- Partition arithmetic. When a parcel is split, the child extents are frequently rounded to whole guntas and no longer sum exactly to the parent.
- Re-survey. A village re-surveyed with modern methods will produce measured extents that differ slightly from the historic record.
- Roads, drains and bunds. Land physically occupied by a public feature may or may not have been deducted from the recorded extent.
- Encroachment. The one case where the difference is not a records artefact but a live problem.
| Difference | Read as |
|---|---|
| Under about 2 guntas on a multi-acre parcel | Normal rounding — note it, proceed |
| A recognisable fraction, such as exactly half a gunta | Likely partition rounding |
| Several guntas | Investigate — pull the Mutation Register and the sub-division record |
| Sketch and physical fence disagree | Possible encroachment — commission a measurement |
| Deed extent differs from RTC extent | Resolve before registration, not after |
When extents conflict, the survey sketch governs shape and the RTC governs the recognised revenue extent. Neither governs where the fence is. That is a third question and only a surveyor answers it.
Buying by the square foot when the record is in guntas
Agricultural land near a growing town is often recorded in guntas but negotiated in square feet, because the buyer is pricing it as future sites. That translation is where value quietly leaks.
- Agree explicitly whether the price is per gunta, per acre or per square foot, and put the total extent in the agreement in the same units as the record.
- A per-square-foot price applied to a gross extent that includes land lost to a road or drain overstates what you are buying. Confirm the usable extent.
- On conversion and layout, part of the extent goes to roads and civic amenities. The saleable area after that is materially less than the gross extent, and the difference should be in your arithmetic before you agree a price.
- Where you are buying part of a survey number, insist the agreement identifies the portion by Hissa or by an 11E sketch — not by a private layout drawing.
Frequently asked questions
How many square feet is one gunta?
One gunta is 1,089 square feet. Forty guntas make one acre, so an acre is 43,560 square feet.
How many guntas are in an acre?
Forty. To convert guntas to acres divide by 40; to convert guntas to square feet multiply by 1,089.
What does an extent of 2-15 mean on an RTC?
Two acres and fifteen guntas, which is 2.375 acres or 103,455 square feet. It does not mean 2.15 acres. Misreading the hyphenated notation as a decimal understates this parcel by roughly a third.
How many acres is one hectare?
One hectare is about 2.471 acres, or roughly 107,639 square feet. Hectares appear on some government records alongside the acre-and-gunta figure.
What is a cent in land measurement?
One cent is one hundredth of an acre, about 435.6 square feet. It is used more in Tamil Nadu and Kerala than in Karnataka, but appears in documents where parties are from those states.
The RTC extent and the survey sketch do not match. Is that a problem?
A difference under about two guntas on a multi-acre parcel is usually transcription or partition rounding accumulated over decades and is not alarming. Several guntas is worth investigating through the Mutation Register and the sub-division record. A mismatch between either record and the physical fence is a separate and more serious question.
Should I buy agricultural land by the square foot or by the gunta?
Use whichever unit the record uses and state it explicitly in the agreement. The common leak is applying a per-square-foot price to a gross extent that includes land lost to roads, drains or future civic amenities. Confirm the usable extent before agreeing a rate.
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This guide is general information about Karnataka land records, not legal advice. Records, fees and procedures change. Verify the current position for your specific property with the relevant department before acting on anything here.