Decimal ↔ bigha

How to convert decimals and bigha yourself

In villages people talk about land in bigha — “two bigha of paddy land” — but khatians, porchas and deeds record it in decimals. So the two must be matched when selling, dividing or paying land tax. This tool converts using the standard measure (1 bigha = 14,400 sq ft).

Rules for calculating by hand

• Decimals to bigha: divide the decimals by 33.0579.
• Bigha to decimals: multiply the bigha by 33.0579.
• Bigha to katha: multiply the bigha by 20 — 1 bigha = 20 katha.

An example

Two and a half bigha is 2.5 × 33.0579 = about 82.64 decimals, that is 50 katha. The other way, 50 decimals in a khatian is about 1.51 bigha.

Keep in mind

• “33 decimals to a bigha” is approximate. The exact value is 33.0579 decimals; on large land the small gap adds up — about 1.16 decimals over 20 bigha.
• Write decimals, not bigha, in deeds. The local size of a bigha can vary by area; a decimal is the same everywhere.