Land Record / Record of Rights (Porcha, Khatian) in West Bengal

What is the Record of Rights in West Bengal?

The Record of Rights in West Bengal, porcha in Bengali, khatian in the register: is the state's authoritative statement of who is recorded as raiyat of a plot, under what khatian number, of what area and of what classification. The Land and Land Reforms and Refugee Relief and Rehabilitation Department maintains it, and publishes it on the Banglarbhumi portal at banglarbhumi.gov.in, which names that department in its own masthead.

West Bengal's record vocabulary differs from most states and the differences matter. A mouza is the revenue village, identified by a JL (Jurisdiction List) number inside a block. A dag is the plot number. A khatian gathers all the dags held by one raiyat in that mouza. And crucially, West Bengal carries two parallel survey series over the same land: RS, the older Revisional Settlement, and LR, the later Land Reforms settlement. A plot has an RS dag number and an LR dag number, and they are not the same number. Anyone searching West Bengal records who does not know this will conclude the record is missing when it is simply filed in the other series.

Banglarbhumi's citizen services reflect this structure. The portal carries plot and khatian information search, an RS/LR plot information service, a plot and khatian status check, an RoR Request for a certified copy, a plot map request, a mouza map request and a mouza map availability check, alongside the department's other functions.

Who can get a West Bengal land record?

Any person can search West Bengal plot and khatian information. Land records are public, so you need not own the plot, be related to the raiyat, or give a reason. Buyers verifying a seller's title, banks assessing collateral, heirs establishing what a deceased relative held and neighbours checking a boundary use the same search.

The RoR Request is different in character: it is a named application, not an anonymous lookup. You supply your name, address and mobile number, and upload what the form asks for. That is normal for a certified document, which is issued to a person and carries a receipt in their name.

You cannot use Banglarbhumi to change a record. Mutation after a purchase or an inheritance, correction of a misspelt name, partition among co-sharers and conversion of land use are decided by the Block Land and Land Reforms Officer as departmental proceedings. The portal accepts applications and publishes results; it does not itself edit an entry.

And a West Bengal khatian entry is a revenue record of who is recorded as raiyat. It is strong evidence and it is what institutions ask for, but a registered deed from the Registrar and a search for encumbrances stay necessary before buying. Registration and mutation are two separate systems, and in West Bengal the gap between them is the single commonest source of later trouble.

How to get a West Bengal land record online on Banglarbhumi

1. Open banglarbhumi.gov.in and go to Citizen Services. The plot and khatian information search is available without an application.
2. Select the district, then the block, then the mouza. West Bengal stores records mouza-wise, so a dag number will not resolve without the right mouza and its JL number.
3. Enter your search key: khatian number or plot (dag) number, and choose the series. If the LR search returns nothing, repeat in the RS series before concluding the record does not exist.
4. Read the record on screen. Check the raiyat's name, the khatian, the dag numbers, the area and the classification against whatever document you are verifying.
5. For a certified copy, register a citizen account, open the RoR Request service, fill the land details and your own name, address and mobile number, and upload the documents the form asks for.
6. Click Calculate Fee. Banglarbhumi returns the exact payable amount for your request before you commit, because the charge varies with what is asked for and its length. Pay online, submit, and save the acknowledgement number the portal issues.

For the map side, run the mouza map availability check first, then place a mouza map request or a plot map request only for a mouza the portal confirms is digitised.

How to get a West Bengal land record offline

1. Go to the Block Land and Land Reforms Office (BL&LRO) for the block in which the mouza falls. The khatian registers and mutation files for that block sit there.
2. Apply in writing with the district, block, mouza and JL number, the khatian or dag number, and the series, and show your identity proof.
3. Pay the prescribed fee at the counter and keep the receipt.
4. Collect the certified porcha, or the acknowledgement number if the matter has gone to the BL&LRO for decision.

Use the counter route for anything that changes the record: mutation after purchase or succession, correction of a wrong name, partition among co-sharers — and where an online search will not resolve and a clerk needs to open the register.

How do you check the status of a Banglarbhumi application?

Banglarbhumi carries its own status services. Use the acknowledgement or application number issued on submission to track an RoR Request; the portal also publishes a plot and khatian status view and a location-wise service status report so you can see how a particular office is running. Keep the acknowledgement number, the BL&LRO will ask for it before it looks anything up, and without it a stalled application is difficult to trace.

If the request stalls, escalate to the BL&LRO for the block, and then to the District Land and Land Reforms Officer.

Is there a validity period on a West Bengal porcha?

A porcha does not expire. What ages is its usefulness: banks, courts and Registrars in West Bengal normally want a certified copy issued within the last 30 to 90 days, because an older porcha will not show a mutation, a mortgage entry or an attachment recorded since. Because the plot and khatian search is free, check the live record on the day you need it even if you already hold a certified copy from earlier.

The real recurring question in West Bengal is not validity but whether mutation was ever done. A buyer holding a registered deed but no mutation has a porcha that still names the seller, and that surfaces at the worst moment, when they try to sell or mortgage.

Why do West Bengal land record searches fail?

• Searched in the wrong series. The same land has different RS and LR dag numbers. Try both before concluding the record is missing.
• Wrong mouza or JL number. Dag numbers repeat across mouzas, and West Bengal has thousands. Confirm the mouza and its JL number first.
• Name spelling. Records were digitised in Bengali from handwritten registers, and a raiyat-name search fails on any variant. Use the khatian or dag number.
• Old dag after subdivision. Partition creates new dag numbers and retires the parent number.
• Mutation pending. The khatian shows the seller because the BL&LRO has not yet passed the mutation order, not because the sale did not happen.
• Mouza map not digitised. A map request for a mouza that has not been digitised will not be fulfilled: run the availability check first.

Where do you complain about a West Bengal land record?

Grievances follow the departmental hierarchy. Start with the Block Land and Land Reforms Officer for the block. A wrong entry, a pending mutation or a refusal to issue a porcha is theirs to answer. Escalate to the District Land and Land Reforms Officer and then to the Land and Land Reforms and Refugee Relief and Rehabilitation Department. Banglarbhumi carries a grievance route on the portal itself, and publishes departmental contact email addresses including dlrswb@gmail.com and wbsacs@gmail.com on its home page for correspondence.

Searching a West Bengal land record online is free, and a certified copy costs exactly what the portal's own Calculate Fee step returns before you pay. No agent, cyber cafe or "land consultant" has privileged access to the Banglarbhumi database or to the BL&LRO's mutation queue. The search a middleman runs is the one you can run yourself. Insist on the on-screen fee figure and an online receipt in your own name, pay the portal or the counter and never a fixer, and never share your Banglarbhumi login or OTP with someone offering to fetch the porcha faster.

Common reasons a Banglarbhumi RoR Request or mutation application gets rejected

• Name on the application does not match the khatian. The RoR Request asks for your own name, address and mobile number as the applicant, not necessarily the raiyat's name on the record. If you enter a name that the system or the reviewing clerk cannot reconcile with the khatian you are requesting a copy of (for example a buyer applying before mutation, without noting that relationship), the request can be sent back for clarification. Fix: state clearly in the application whether you are the recorded raiyat, a buyer, or an heir, and attach the deed or succession document that explains the link.
• Wrong RS or LR series selected. Because West Bengal carries two parallel dag numbering systems, an RoR Request filed against the wrong series returns "record not found" rather than a clean rejection with a reason. Fix: confirm the correct series using the free plot and khatian search before filing the paid RoR Request, so the request itself is not wasted.
• Unclear or mismatched document uploads. The RoR Request form asks for supporting documents to be uploaded online. A scan that is unreadable, cropped, or does not match the plot and khatian details typed into the form is a common cause of the request being held up or rejected at review. Fix: upload a clear, complete scan of the same document whose details you entered, and check that the district, block, mouza, khatian and dag numbers on the upload match what you typed.
• Mutation not yet passed. A khatian that still shows the seller or the deceased relative as raiyat, because the Block Land and Land Reforms Officer has not passed a mutation order, is not something an RoR Request can fix. Applying for a certified copy in the new owner's name before mutation is complete will simply return the old raiyat's record, not a rejection notice, but it will not serve the purpose the applicant needed it for. Fix: get the mutation case decided at the BL&LRO first, then request the certified copy once the khatian reflects the change.
• Fee not paid after the Calculate Fee step. The portal computes the exact payable amount and expects payment before the request is treated as submitted. An application left at the fee-calculation stage without completing payment does not proceed and can lapse. Fix: complete the online payment in the same session and save the acknowledgement number as proof of a submitted request.
• Applying for a mouza map that is not digitised. A plot map or mouza map request for a mouza the portal has not digitised will not be fulfilled, regardless of how the request is filed. Fix: run the mouza map availability check first and only file the map request for a mouza the portal confirms is available.