Also known as Cottah
In West Bengal and Tripura a katha (cottah) is 720 square feet and 20 katha make a bigha. In Assam a katha is 2,880 sq ft, and in Bihar and Jharkhand about 1,361 sq ft.
Example
A Kolkata plot
A 3 katha plot in New Town, Kolkata, is 3 × 720 = 2,160 sq ft, or 240 square yards. If the seller asks ₹40 lakh per katha, the plot costs ₹1.2 crore — about ₹5,556 per sq ft. In Patna, where a katha is about 1,361 sq ft, the same “3 katha” would be almost twice the land.
Figures are illustrative, not market rates.
Across India
- West Bengal and Tripura: 1 katha is 720 sq ft, divided into 16 chhatak of 45 sq ft each; 20 katha make a bigha.
- Assam: a katha is commonly 2,880 sq ft (5 katha per bigha), though some sources give smaller figures — confirm with the circle office.
- Bihar and Jharkhand: about 1,361 sq ft around Patna, with smaller values in some north Bihar districts.
Questions about Katha
How many square feet is one katha in Kolkata?
In Kolkata and the rest of West Bengal, one katha (cottah) is 720 sq ft, which is 80 square yards or about 66.9 square metres. Twenty katha make one bigha of 14,400 sq ft. Flat plots in Kolkata are often 2 to 5 katha.
What is a chhatak?
A chhatak is a smaller unit used with the katha in West Bengal. Sixteen chhatak make one katha, so a chhatak is 45 sq ft. Property papers in Kolkata often read like “3 katha 8 chhatak”, which is 2,160 + 360 = 2,520 sq ft.
What is a decimal compared with a katha?
A decimal (dismil) is one-hundredth of an acre, 435.6 sq ft. It is used in land records in West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha alongside the katha. In Bengal one katha of 720 sq ft is about 1.65 decimals.
Sources
- Banglarbhumi — West Bengal land records · accessed
- Bhulekh Odisha — land records · accessed
See also
Reviewed