What land is being acquired and where
The acquisition is for bypasses on the Omalur, Sankari, Tiruchengode, Paramathi State Highway, numbered SH-86. This is a State road, so the acquisition is under the Tamil Nadu Highways Act, 2001 and the notices appear in the Tamil Nadu State Gazette.
The notified land lies in Salem district, in two taluks: Omalur and Sankari. In all, 207 survey numbers across 3 villages are covered by the notices recorded for this project.
A survey number appearing in a notice does not always mean the whole survey number is taken. Notices usually specify subdivisions and extents, so the exact portion affected must be read from the notice itself.
The notices and their stage
Four notifications have been published for this project under the Tamil Nadu Highways Act, 2001. They are dated 12 September 2020, 27 October 2021, 10 December 2021 and 18 December 2024. Each notification covers one village.
Under this Act, land needed for a highway is acquired by a notice published under section 15(1). Once such a notice is published, the land vests in the Government under the Act. This differs from the 2013 central Act, where a preliminary notification is followed later by a separate declaration.
On the records available, none of the four notifications has been withdrawn and none has been marked as corrected later. The records here do not show whether compensation has been paid, whether possession has been taken, or whether construction has begun. Those points should be confirmed with the land acquisition office.
Villages covered
Sikkampatti, in Omalur taluk, has the largest number of affected survey numbers: 147.
Kasthurippatti, in Sankari taluk, has 39 survey numbers notified.
Sankari village, in Sankari taluk, has 21 survey numbers notified.
No survey numbers in any of these villages are recorded as withdrawn from the acquisition.
What to do if your land is listed
Obtain a copy of the Gazette notification for your village and check your survey number, subdivision and the extent shown against it. Compare it with your patta, chitta and the field measurement sketch.
Contact the land acquisition office handling State highway work in Salem district, usually through the District Collectorate, to confirm the stage of the acquisition, whether an award has been passed, and how to lodge a claim for compensation. Keep copies of title deeds, patta, encumbrance certificate and identity documents ready.
If you are buying land in these villages, ask the seller for the survey number and subdivision, and check them against all four notifications before paying any advance. Land covered by a highway acquisition notice cannot be validly sold as free land, and a buyer may not receive compensation unless the claim is properly established.