
Khatiyan determines a number of important things. All the Khatiyans of a Mouza are kept according to the serial number in a bound volume. And when there is a need to divide that Mouza into further plots, a Khatiyan is prepared. But how does this work? – Every sub-district of a district is divided into small plots otherwise known as Mouza. The main objective of the survey was to prepare a plot-to-plot survey and settlement on direct identification of the holder of the plot. To tackle this confusion, in 1885, the Bengal Tenancy Act defined the rights and obligations of all the land by conducting a land survey so as to prepare a series of permanent land records called Record of Rights or Khatiyan for the holders of land as well as for the Government. That is to say, there was no definitive way or legal records to identify who owns what and how. Before the introduction of khatiyan, it was really difficult to assert anyone’s right over a piece of land. This documentation was introduced in 1885 under the Bengal Tenancy Act (Act No. Khatiyan (Record of Rights), Sottolipi, or Porcha is a document for identifying land. In this article, we will gonna discuss khatiyan, its functionality, and its importance. However, it can get a little confusing with all the different types of khatiyan and their role in the property validation process. It determines the land type, portion of an owner, easement right, amount of Land Development Tax payable, etc. These documents play a vital role in determining the rights and obligations over the property as well as support the evidence of title and possession of it. You need to check several documents thoroughly in order to validate the authenticity of a property’s ownership before purchasing it.
