Two khasras, one award: unit conversion, deduction and rounding in a land acquisition case
In a revenue circle of Mandi district, a patwari has recorded two adjacent khasras of the same landowner. Khasra 214 measures 3 kanal 14 marla; Khasra 215 measures 1 acre 5 kanal. The circle follows 1 kanal = 20 marla and 1 acre = 8 kanal. Both khasras are being acquired for a road-widening project at Rs 4,375 per marla. From the gross compensation, 8 per cent is deducted as development charges. The net amount must be divided among three heirs in the ratio 1/2 : 1/3 : 1/6. Because revenue records cannot show paise, each share is rounded down to the nearest rupee and the leftover rupees go to the eldest heir. The award statement must also state the total area in acres, correct to two decimal places. Two heirs object that the total exceeds 2.5 acres and that the patwari should have used the local bigha of 5 kanal instead of the acre. The tehsildar wants to sign the award the same evening.
1. Compute the total area in marla and in acres to two decimals. Is the heirs' claim of more than 2.5 acres correct? Explain how the choice of unit affects the figure.
Read the worked answer
Convert both khasras to the smallest unit, marla, before adding.
Khasra 214 = 3 kanal 14 marla = (3 x 20) + 14 = 74 marla. Khasra 215 = 1 acre 5 kanal = (8 + 5) kanal = 13 kanal = 13 x 20 = 260 marla. Total = 74 + 260 = 334 marla.
In acres: 334 / 160 = 2.0875, which rounds to 2.09 acre. The claim of more than 2.5 acres is wrong; 2.5 acres would be 400 marla, so the parcel is 66 marla short of that figure.
The bigha does not change the physical area. If the local bigha of 5 kanal is used, 334 marla = 16.7 kanal = 3.34 bigha. The number looks larger only because the unit is smaller. Since the compensation rate is quoted per marla, the award must be built on marla, with acre shown as the reporting unit.
2. Compute the gross compensation, the deduction, the net amount and each heir's share after rounding. State the checks you would apply before signing.
Read the worked answer
Gross = 334 x 4,375. Check: 4,375 x 300 = 13,12,500 and 4,375 x 34 = 1,48,750, so gross = Rs 14,61,250. Deduction at 8 per cent = 14,61,250 x 0.08 = Rs 1,16,900. Net payable = 14,61,250 - 1,16,900 = Rs 13,44,350.
Shares of the net: half = Rs 6,72,175; one-third = Rs 4,48,116.67; one-sixth = Rs 2,24,058.33. Rounded down: 6,72,175 + 4,48,116 + 2,24,058 = 13,44,349, leaving a residual of exactly Re 1, which is added to the eldest heir, making the eldest's share Rs 6,72,176.
Checks before signing: the three shares must add back to Rs 13,44,350 exactly; the ratio 1/2 : 1/3 : 1/6 must be shown as 3 : 2 : 1 over a common denominator of 6; and the residual must be disclosed on the award sheet rather than absorbed silently. A one-rupee mismatch in a compensation record is an audit objection, not a rounding detail.
3. Which unit must appear in the award, and how should the patwari handle the bigha demand and the same-day approval without weakening the record?
Read the worked answer
The award must follow the units of the circle's record, that is kanal and marla, with acre as the reporting unit, because the acquisition rate and the khasra entries are both expressed per marla. Bigha is not a notified standard unit in the record; its size varies from one valley and district to another, so introducing it into an award makes the figure unverifiable to a reviewing authority.
The patwari should record the heirs' objection in the roznamcha and in the award file, note that the bigha equivalent is 3.34 at 5 kanal per bigha purely for the parties' understanding, and proceed. Acquisition does not require the heirs' consent, but it does require that their objection be on record.
For same-day approval, the safe course is not to rush the arithmetic but to attach a computation sheet showing gross, deduction, ratio, rounding and residual, so the tehsildar signs a verifiable document. Speed should come from a clean working sheet, not from skipped checks.