Land Measurement Terminologies
The land measurement terminology differs across states in India. In many states, the measurement terms for an Acre differs. For Example,
- a) In Assam, 1 Acre = 3 Bighas and 8 Chains
- b) In Bihar, 1 Acre = 1 Bigha and 12 Kattas (or) 32 Kattas (or) 100 Decimals
- c) In Haryana, 1 Acre = 4 Bigha and 16 Biswa
- d) In Himachal Pradesh, 1 Acre = 5 Bigha
- e) In Jharkhand, 1 Acre = 3 Bigha or 100 Decimals
- f) In West Bengal, 1 Acre = 100 Decimals
- g) In Odisha, 1 Acre = 100 Decimals (in Cuttack area) and 1000 Decimals (in Bhubaneshwar area)
Local terminology used for measurement of land in various States in India (common terminology is Hectares/Acres for Village Properties and Square feet or Square mts for city Properties in most states in India). But in realty, local terminology is used for land measurement in many States in India and the names of these local terminologies predominantly used for village/rural area Properties (apart from Acres are) :
Tamil Nadu - Hectares/Ares (locally the word cent is mainly used in many Districts for land measurement).
Puducherry - Cawnie/Kuzhi/Centiar/Veesam
Kerala – Cents and Square feet
Andhra Pradesh – Guntas and Sq.yards (in few Districts in AP, land is measured by the term Anganam)
Karnataka and Maharashtra (Rural areas) – Guntas
Gujarat – Hectares/Ares/Guntas and Sq.mts/Sq.yard for city Property
Odisha – Decimal
Bihar and Jharkhand – Katta and Decimal
Assam – Katha, Bigha and Lessa
Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh – Bigha
Rajasthan – Bigha and Biswa
Haryana – Bigha, Biswa, Biswani, Kanal and Marla
West Bengal – Decimal, Cottah, Sadak and Bigha
Note: 1 Hectare = 2.471 Acres or 100 Ares
1 Acre = 43560 Sq.ft (in some states, 1 Acre = 43636 Sq.ft)
1 Sq.mts = 10.76 Sq.ft
FSI and FAR
All States do not follow a common policy as bench mark for Building Construction. In Some states, FSI (Floor Space Index) is used and in some States FAR (Floor area ratio) is used.
FSI (Floor Space Index) = Built up area allowed in proportion to land holding extent
FAR (Floor Area Ratio) = Gross Floor area/Area of the Plot
(Gross Floor area is the total floor area on all floors of a Building)
There is no great difference between FSI and FAR
In FSI, Maximum Plot coverage ratio will not be mentioned separately per floor but whereas in FAR, Plot Coverage ratio will be separately mentioned per floor
Plot Coverage ratio = Maximum built up area at any floor X 100%
Plot area
Examples
1) Maximum Permissable FSI = 1.5
For 2400 Sq.ft of land, when max Perm FSI is 1.5, maximum constructed area shall be 2400 x 1.5=3600 Sq.ft (FSI will not specify Floor wise construction). This total extent can be constructed in any number of floors subject to road and building height restrictions. (say the entire 3600 Sq.ft can be constructed in any number of floors in any manner subject to road extent and height restrictions- say 1600 Sq.ft in Ground Floor and 2000 Sq.ft in First Floor (or) 1000 Sq.ft in Ground Floor, 1500 Sq.ft in First Floor and 1100 Sq.ft in Second Floor)
2) Maximum Permissable FAR = 1.5, Maximum Plot Coverage ratio = 75%
For 2400 Sq.ft of land, when Max Perm FAR = 1.5, maximum constructed area of building shall be 2400 x 1.5 = 3600 Sq.ft. However when maximum Plot coverage ratio is mentioned as 75%, then the building built up area can't exceed 75% area of the total area in each floor which means that not more than 1800 Sq.ft can be constructed in each floor.
In short, under FSI concept, maximum Floor area extent (per floor) will not be separately mentioned (however the total built up area on all floors should not exceed the maximum permissible limit) but in FAR, the maximum built up extent per floor will be calculated and clearly mentioned and one can't exceed that limit for each floor.
FSI/FAR Norms followed for Residential Buildings across India
In India, FSI is used in Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Gujarat
FAR is used in Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan and West Bengal
Maximum permissible FSI limits for residential purposes
Tamil Nadu - 1.5
Maharashtra - 1.33 (lowest in India)
Gujarat - 2.00 (However in Gujarat, in certain earth quake seismic zones, FSI is very low)
(However separate premium FSI of 1.00 is available on payment on extra fees in Tamil nadu and Maharashtra subject to compliance of many conditions like road width, plot area etc). For Group Housing and Multi Storied Housing, additional FSI is permitted under certain norms)
Maximum Permissible FAR limits for residential purposes
It differs from State to State in India. It depends on the maximum permissible height of the building as well and various other parameters like road width, plot area, density of population etc. (For Group Housing and Multi Storied Housing, additional FAR is permitted under certain norms)
Assam - FAR ranges between 1.00 and 2.25
Bihar – FAR ranges between 1.50 and 3.50
Chhattisgarh – FAR -1.30
Delhi - 2.00 (for new Co-op societies) and 3.50 (for plot area exceeding 175 Sq.ft provided only 4 Floors height with 15 mts building can be constructed)
Haryana - FAR ranges between 1.00 and 1.45
Himachal Pradesh – FAR- 1.75
Karnataka - Between 1.50 and 2.50
Kerala - Between 3.00 and 4.00
Madhya Pradesh - Between 1.50 and 3.00
Odisha - Between 1.00 and 2.75
Punjab – Between 1.25 and 2.00
Rajasthan - Between 1.20 and 2.40
West Bengal – Between 1.50 and 2.50
In Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka, density of population is also taken into account for calculation of FAR like in Karnataka, FAR differs between thickly density area, moderate density area and sparse density area and in Madhya Pradesh, FAR differs between Gross Residential Density persons per Hectare.
Additional Information
FAR (Floor Area Ratio) term is also used in Canada and United States of America.
The term Plot ratio (which is almost similar to FSI), is used in parts of Australia, Singapore and United Kingdom