What land is being acquired and where
The land is being acquired to widen the Chengalpattu to Kancheepuram Road, a state highway shown in the records as SH-58(1). Because this is a state road, the acquisition is made under the Tamil Nadu Highways Act, 2001, and the notices appear in the Tamil Nadu state gazette.
In total, 862 survey numbers are listed across 22 villages. The villages fall in Chengalpattu taluk of Chengalpattu district, and in Kancheepuram and Walajabad taluks of Kancheepuram district.
A notice covers only the survey numbers, and often only the subdivisions and extents, that it specifically lists. A neighbouring field is not affected unless its own number appears in a notice.
The notices and their stage
The records show 14 notifications under the Tamil Nadu Highways Act, 2001. The first was dated 2 July 2020 and the latest was dated 26 June 2024. Most were issued in 2020, with further notices in 2021, 2023 and 2024.
Under the Highways Act, a notice under section 15(1) states that the Government has decided to acquire the listed land for a highway. Once such a notice is published, the land vests in the Government free from encumbrances, and the owner's right becomes a right to compensation rather than a right to keep the land.
None of the 14 notices is recorded as withdrawn, and none is recorded as corrected later. The records do not show whether compensation has been determined or paid for any particular survey number, or whether possession has been taken. Those points must be confirmed with the land acquisition office handling the project.
Villages covered
The village with the most survey numbers in the records is in Chengalpattu taluk, with 159. In Kancheepuram taluk, Chinnaiyankulam and Nasarathpattai each have 115 survey numbers listed, Thenampakkam has 68, Nasarath Pettai has 15 and Velliyur has 2. Nasarathpattai and Nasarath Pettai appear as separate entries in the records, so check both if your land is in that area.
In Walajabad taluk, Iyampettai has 53 survey numbers, Thimmarajampettai has 24, Walajabad has 17, Keelottivakkam has 15, Vallapakkam has 12, Thimmayapettai has 9, Muthiyalpattai and Vengudi have 6 each, and Ekanampettai has 4.
Several other villages in Chengalpattu, Kancheepuram and Walajabad taluks are also listed, including villages recorded in parts such as A and B portions. The full list of 22 villages, with the survey numbers for each, should be checked against the gazette notices themselves.
What to do if your land is listed
First, compare your patta, chitta and adangal with the survey numbers and subdivisions in the gazette notice for your village. Check the extent shown against your own land, because often only a strip along the road is taken.
If your survey number is listed, contact the land acquisition office for this road project in your district. Ask whether compensation has been determined for your parcel, whether an award has been passed, and what documents you must file to claim it. Keep copies of everything you submit.
If you are buying land near this road, ask the seller for the survey number and subdivision, and check them against every notice for that village. Land covered by a published notice vests in the Government, so a buyer of such land may receive only a claim to compensation, and only if the title is clear. An encumbrance certificate alone will not show this.