Land & Property Records

Bhu Naksha: How to Read a Cadastral Map

A bhu naksha is the digitised village map. Find your plot number, check its shape and neighbours, and match them to your record of rights.

Written by Ananya Iyer

Published 17 September 2026·6 min read

On this page10 sections

Credsir Land & Property Records guide cover with a land plot icon

A bhu naksha is the digitised village cadastral map: every closed shape on it is a plot, labelled with its khasra, survey or plot number. To read it, find your plot number, check its shape and the numbers of the plots around it, and match those against your record of rights and sale deed. The map shows position and shape; ownership comes from the land record.

Key facts

Item	Detail
What it is	A digitised cadastral (village) map, one shape per land parcel
Software	Bhu-Naksha, built by the National Informatics Centre (NIC) for state revenue departments
Other names	Shajra, village map, FMB or tippan sketch, depending on the state
Typical survey scale	Rural cadastral surveys are generally at 1:4,000
Legal status	The online view is for information; certified copies come from the revenue department
National progress	97.43% of cadastral maps digitised, 85.24% linked to text records (DoLR, August 2026)

What a bhu naksha shows

NIC’s Bhu-Naksha software stores village maps for the patwari or village accountant and lets the public view them. Most state portals built on it show:

Item	Details
Plot boundaries.	Each polygon is one parcel as recorded in the survey.
Plot numbers.	The khasra, survey, dag or plot number printed inside each shape.
Physical features.	Roads, paths, canals, drains, ponds and village habitation, drawn as separate layers.
Village boundary.	The edge of the revenue village, and in some states the map sheet boundaries.
Plot report.	NIC’s documentation describes a printable report with the map of the area around a plot, plus location and owner details pulled from the record of rights.

The map does not show encumbrances, loans or court cases, and owner names on a plot report are only as current as the linked record.

Plot numbers, boundaries and scale

Plot numbers

A plot number is unique only within its village, and sometimes within one map sheet. The same number can appear in the next village. Always note the district, tehsil or circle, village and sheet along with the number.

When a plot is split, the new parts usually carry the parent number with a suffix, such as 112/1 and 112/2. Bhu-Naksha records the history of each division, and it can merge up to 12 khasras into a new number. The exact numbering style varies by state.

Boundaries and neighbours

Read the numbers of every plot that touches yours, and which side they are on. Your sale deed usually lists the neighbours on the east, west, north and south. If the map neighbours do not match the deed, stop and check before you buy.

Scale and measurements

Rural cadastral surveys are generally drawn at 1:4,000, meaning 1 cm on paper is 40 metres on the ground. The online viewer can zoom and print to any scale, so a length measured off your screen is only an estimate. Use the area in the record of rights, and a field measurement for exact dimensions.

Step by step: reading your plot on a bhu naksha portal

Open your state’s Bhu-Naksha portal and select district, sub-division or tehsil, circle and village.
If asked, choose the survey type and map sheet. Bihar, for example, lets you pick the CS (Cadastral Survey) or RS (Revisional Survey) map.
Type your plot number in the search box or click the plot on the map.
Open “Plot Info” and note the plot number, area and names shown.
Write down the numbers of all adjoining plots and the road or canal nearest your plot.
Switch on a Google Maps or Bing Maps background, where offered, to see the plot against satellite imagery.
Download or print the plot report for your file.

Our Bhulekh Naksha page lists state portals; this guide is about making sense of what they show.

Linking the map to your land record

The map and the record of rights (khatauni, jamabandi, 7/12 or pahani) are two halves of one record. Match them field by field:

Check	On the map	In the record of rights
Plot number	Number inside the polygon	Khasra or survey number column
Area	Rough size of the shape	Recorded area in hectares, acres or local units
Owner	Names on the plot report, if shown	Owner and share columns
Location	Village, sheet, neighbours	Village and khata number

For UP, our khatauni guide explains the text record. Take both documents to your property checks; the property legal due diligence checklist lists what else to verify.

Why the map and ground may not match

Item	Details
Old surveys.	Many maps come from surveys decades old. A paper on cadastral surveys in Coordinates magazine notes that failure to update maps and records has fuelled property litigation.
Unrecorded splits.	Families divide land informally, and the map may still show one plot.
Digitisation errors.	Paper maps were scanned and traced; a shifted line or wrong number can creep in.
Loose overlays.	Satellite backgrounds rely on georeferencing. NIC notes its accuracy depends on the number and quality of the control points used, and DoLR reports only 76.16% of parcels fully georeferenced.
Different legal documents.	According to the same paper, southern states historically treated the field measurement book (FMB) as the legal record, while northern states such as UP, MP, Rajasthan and Punjab treated the map itself as the legal document.

Getting a certified map copy

An online printout is for information. For a bank, court or registration, ask for a certified copy from the tehsil, circle or land records office, or through the state’s online service where one exists.

Bihar: the revenue department delivers village maps to your door for ₹150 a map within 72 hours of online payment, as reported by Magicbricks in August 2025.
Other states: fees, formats and whether a digitally signed copy is accepted vary. Check with your state’s land records department.

Correcting map errors

If the map is wrong, the fix runs through the revenue or survey department, not the website.

Get a copy of the map and the record of rights showing the error.
Apply for a field measurement (demarcation) of your plot by the revenue surveyor.
Where neighbours disagree, apply to the officer who decides boundary disputes.
After the order, ask that the digital map and record be updated, and download a fresh copy.

In Uttar Pradesh, Section 24 of the UP Revenue Code, 2006 lets the Sub-Divisional Officer decide boundary disputes by summary inquiry on the basis of the survey map. In Maharashtra, you apply for measurement (mojani) through the e-Mojani portal. Where land value or a family dispute is involved, a local revenue lawyer can help.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between bhu naksha and bhulekh?

Bhu naksha is the map showing plot shapes. Bhulekh usually refers to the text record of rights listing owners, shares and area.

Can I find land by survey number on the map?

Yes. Select the village and search for the khasra or survey number; the portal highlights the plot.

Is an online bhu naksha printout valid as proof?

It is for information. Banks and courts usually want a certified copy from the revenue department.

Why is my plot not showing on the map?

The village map may not be digitised or linked yet, or the plot may have been renumbered after a split. Check with the tehsil or circle office.

Can I measure my plot from the bhu naksha?

Only roughly. The viewer can print at any scale, so use the recorded area and a field measurement for exact figures.

Does the map show who owns the land?

Some state portals show owner names from the linked land record. Ownership itself is proved by title documents and the record of rights, not the map.

Sources

Bhu-Naksha: Indian Cadastral Mapping Solution — National Informatics Centre (checked 16 Sep 2026)
Bhunaksha presentation (features, plot report, georeferencing) — DoLR and NIC (checked 16 Sep 2026)
BhuNaksha Bihar — Revenue and Land Reforms Department, Bihar (checked 16 Sep 2026)
DILRMP milestones on map digitisation and georeferencing — PIB (checked 16 Sep 2026)
Cadastral surveys in India — Coordinates magazine (checked 16 Sep 2026)
Section 24, U.P. Revenue Code, 2006 — Indian Kanoon (checked 16 Sep 2026)
e-Mojani — Land Records Department, Maharashtra (checked 16 Sep 2026)
Bihar Bhunaksha map delivery in 72 hours for ₹150 — Magicbricks (checked 16 Sep 2026)