Guntha to Square Feet: Conversion and Plot Sizes
1 guntha is 1,089 square feet, a square of 33 ft by 33 ft. That is about 101.17 square metres or 121 square yards, and 40 guntha make an acre. Unlike the bigha, the figure holds everywhere the unit is used: Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana, Gujarat and Odisha. So 10 guntha is 10,890 sq ft and 20 guntha is half an acre.
Key takeaways
- 1 guntha = 1,089 sq ft = 101.17 sq m = 121 sq yd = 2.5 cents or decimals = 1/40 acre.
- Maharashtra's 7/12 extract records area in hectares and ares, not guntha. An are (100 sq m) is about 1% smaller than a guntha, which is where many buyers slip.
- Karnataka's RTC and Telangana's records write land as acre-gunta, and Karnataka splits a gunta into 16 annas of about 68 sq ft.
- Maharashtra's fragmentation law long blocked the sale of small guntha pieces. An August 2023 notification cut the standard area to 20 guntha of dry land and 10 guntha of irrigated land, and a November 2025 ordinance regularised small fragments in urban and non-agricultural zones.
- A guntha plot being legal to transfer does not make it legal to build on. Layout approval and non-agricultural use are separate checks.
Guntha conversion chart
All figures are our own arithmetic from 1 guntha = 1,089 sq ft, the value Karnataka, Telangana, Odisha and Maharashtra converters all use, and the one our hub on land measurement units in India gives.
| Guntha | Square feet | Square metres | Square yards (gaj) | Acre | Cents / decimals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1,089 | 101.2 | 121 | 0.025 | 2.5 |
| 2 | 2,178 | 202.3 | 242 | 0.05 | 5 |
| 5 | 5,445 | 505.9 | 605 | 0.125 | 12.5 |
| 10 | 10,890 | 1,011.7 | 1,210 | 0.25 | 25 |
| 20 | 21,780 | 2,023.4 | 2,420 | 0.5 | 50 |
| 40 | 43,560 | 4,046.9 | 4,840 | 1 | 100 |
Two handy coincidences: 5 guntha is exactly 5,445 sq ft, the same as one kanal in Punjab and Haryana, and 1 guntha equals 2.5 cents, the unit Kerala and Tamil Nadu use. Our pages on cent to square feet and acre to square feet run those conversions the other way.
Where 1,089 comes from, and the units beside it
The guntha is tied to the surveyor's chain the British revenue surveys used. A Gunter's chain is 66 ft long and a square chain is 4,356 sq ft, one-tenth of an acre. A guntha is a square of half a chain (33 ft) a side, so a quarter of a square chain: 4,356 ÷ 4 = 1,089. That is why the number is the same from Pune to Hyderabad; the bigha, by contrast, grew from local rods and differs by district (see our bigha to square feet table).
Anna in Karnataka
Karnataka divides one gunta into 16 annas, so an anna is 1,089 ÷ 16 = about 68.06 sq ft. You meet annas only in the smallest fractions on an RTC.
Ankanam in Andhra Pradesh
In southern Andhra Pradesh, around Nellore and Tirupati, plots are quoted in ankanams of 72 sq ft (8 sq yd). One guntha is 1,089 ÷ 72 = 15.125 ankanams, and an acre is 605 ankanams.
The are on a Maharashtra 7/12
The are is a metric unit of 100 sq m, about 1,076 sq ft. The 7/12 extract prints area as hectare, are and square metre. Because an are is roughly 1% smaller than a guntha, people round one to the other, and on a large holding that rounding adds up. Our explainer on the 7/12 extract shows how to read the area column.
How guntha appears in each state's records
| State | How the record writes area | Where guntha shows up |
|---|---|---|
| Maharashtra | Hectare-are-sq m on the 7/12 | Spoken and in sale talk; the fragmentation law's standard area is set in guntha |
| Karnataka | Acre-gunta-anna on the RTC (for example, 2-13) | Directly on the record |
| Telangana | Acre-gunta | Directly on the record; Hyderabad plots also sold in sq yd |
| Odisha | Acres and decimals on the RoR | Local speech in Bhubaneswar and around it |
| Gujarat | Hectare-are-sq m | Building block of the bigha (16 guntha in Saurashtra) |
For the state portals themselves, see Bhoomi RTC Karnataka, Bhu Bharati Telangana and Odisha Bhulekh.
Guntha plots in Maharashtra and the tukdebandi rules
The Maharashtra Prevention of Fragmentation and Consolidation of Holdings Act, 1947, the tukdebandi law, sets a "standard area" for farmland in each district. A piece smaller than that is a fragment, and transfers creating one were restricted. That is why one- and two-guntha plots on the edge of Pune and Nashik were so often sold on notarised papers instead of a registered deed.
The 2023 cut in standard area
In August 2023 the revenue department notified a new standard area under section 5(3) of the Act: 20 guntha for dry (jirayat) land and 10 guntha for irrigated (bagayat) land, down from 40 and 20. Farmers can now have holdings of that size entered on the 7/12 in their own names.
The 2025 ordinance for urban and non-agricultural land
Since a 2016 amendment, section 8B had lifted the core restrictions inside municipal corporation and council limits and special planning areas, with a proviso that kept them for fragments in designated areas. The ordinance promulgated on 3 November 2025 deleted that proviso. Fragments in urban limits and in peripheral zones where non-agricultural use is allowed are treated as regularised without a premium. Revenue minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule said plots down to one guntha subdivided before January 2025 would be legalised, and the government put the number of families helped at about 60 lakh. Press reports differ on the exact cut-off window, so read the notified text for your case.
Gunthewari layouts are a separate law
Houses built on unapproved guntha layouts fall under the Maharashtra Gunthewari Developments (Regularisation, Upgradation and Control) Act, 2001. A 2021 amendment moved the eligibility date to developments existing on 31 December 2020, and regularisation still needs a compounding fee and development charge fixed by the planning authority.
Worked examples
Reading a Karnataka RTC
An RTC shows 2 acres 13 gunta 8 annas. That is (2 × 43,560) + (13 × 1,089) + (8 × 68.06) = 87,120 + 14,157 + 544.5 = 101,821.5 sq ft, or about 2.34 acres.
A 7/12 that reads 0.10.12
A Maharashtra 7/12 shows 0 hectare 10 are 12 sq m, which is 1,012 sq m. Divide by 0.0929 and you get about 10,893 sq ft, almost exactly 10 guntha. A seller who calls it "10 guntha" is right here; one who calls 0.40.00 "40 guntha" is overstating it, since 4,000 sq m is about 43,056 sq ft, or 39.5 guntha.
Checking a per-guntha asking price
A portal listing near Khordha NH, outside Bhubaneswar, asked Rs 3.85 crore for 191.1 guntha. That is 191.1 × 1,089 = 208,108 sq ft, so about Rs 185 per sq ft, or Rs 2.01 lakh per guntha. The listing's own per-square-foot figure was higher, which is a reminder to do this sum yourself for any quote. For the city's plot market, see our Bhubaneswar real estate market page.
Before you pay for a guntha plot
- Legal to transfer is not legal to build. Regularising a fragment lets it be registered. A house still needs non-agricultural permission and an approved layout or building plan.
- Notarised sales. Thousands of guntha plots changed hands on notarised agreements. Those don't transfer title; only a registered deed does.
- Shares, not plots. A 7/12 can list many co-owners on one survey number. A "2 guntha" sale may be an undivided share with no marked boundary.
- Access and roads. Small plots carved from a field often reach the road through someone else's land. Get the access in writing.
- Mismatched units. Make the deed's metric area and the 7/12 or RTC figure agree before you sign.
Guntha land suits a buyer who is ready to do the paperwork. It doesn't suit anyone expecting a ready-to-build plot at a farmland price.
Frequently asked questions
How many square feet are there in 1 guntha?
One guntha is 1,089 sq ft, a square of 33 ft by 33 ft. It is about 101.17 square metres or 121 square yards. The figure is the same in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana, Gujarat and Odisha, because the unit comes from a quarter of the surveyor's square chain.
How many guntha are in 1 acre?
Forty. An acre is 43,560 sq ft, and 43,560 ÷ 1,089 = 40. Half an acre is 20 guntha and a quarter acre is 10 guntha. In Karnataka and Telangana records, area is written as acres and guntas together, such as 3-20 for three and a half acres.
What is 10 guntha in square feet?
Ten guntha is 10,890 sq ft, about 1,012 square metres or a quarter of an acre. In Maharashtra, 10 guntha is also the new standard area for irrigated land notified in August 2023, so a 10-guntha bagayat holding can be recorded on the 7/12 in its own right.
Can I buy a 1 guntha or 2 guntha plot in Maharashtra now?
Inside municipal limits and in zones where non-agricultural use is allowed, the November 2025 amendment treats small fragments as regularised, so registration is possible. On farmland outside those areas, the 20-guntha dry and 10-guntha irrigated standard areas still apply. Building needs separate permission either way.
Is a guntha the same as an are on the 7/12?
No. An are is 100 sq m, about 1,076 sq ft. A guntha is 1,089 sq ft, roughly 1% larger. The 7/12 prints hectares and ares, so 40 are is about 39.5 guntha, not 40. Treat 80 are as 80 guntha and you overstate the land by about 1,000 sq ft.
Weighing a guntha plot near Pune, Bengaluru or Bhubaneswar? Talk to Realty Hunting and we'll help you read the records before you commit.
