What land is being acquired and where
The project is the widening of the Cheyyur Vandavasi Polur Road, a State Highway numbered SH-115. Land along the road is being acquired by the State under the Tamil Nadu Highways Act, 2001.
The notifications cover 853 survey numbers in 48 villages. The villages fall in the districts of Chengalpattu, Kancheepuram, Mayiladuthurai, Namakkal, Thanjavur, Thiruvarur, Thoothukkudi and Tiruvannamalai, as recorded in the notifications.
The largest share of survey numbers lies in Tiruvannamalai district, in Vandavasi, Polur and Chetpet taluks, and in Chengalpattu district, in Cheyyur and Maduranthagam taluks.
The notices and their stage
All 18 notices are notifications under the Tamil Nadu Highways Act, 2001, published in the State Gazette. The first is dated 21 March 2020 and the latest is dated 14 August 2023.
Most notifications cover one or two villages. The notification of 2 July 2020 covers 7 villages, and the notification of 15 April 2021 is the widest, covering 23 villages.
A notice under section 15(1) of the Highways Act states the Government's intention to acquire the land described in it for a highway purpose. Owners and persons interested are called upon to show cause against the acquisition before the land vests in the Government by a later order.
The records show that no notification has been withdrawn and none has been corrected later. They do not record the dates of later orders or of possession, so the current stage for a particular survey number must be confirmed with the land acquisition office.
The villages in the notifications
Tiruvannamalai district: Sennavaram (122 survey numbers), Modaiyur (97), Venmani (31), Karapoondi (29), Mattapiriyur (29), Maruthadu Madhura Kallankuthu (29), Biruthur (9), Devikapuram (7), Pulivanadal (6), Chetpet, Jeganathapuram, Kilsathamangalam, Kothandapuram, Vandavasi, Enthal, Sevarpoondi and Modaiyur (Addl.).
Chengalpattu district: Mudhaliyar Kuppam (95 survey numbers), Kattudavathur (76), Peruvelli (62), No.63 Velamur (34), two Cheyyur revenue villages listed separately in the records, Mudaliyarkuppam (Addl.) and Soththupakkam.
Mayiladuthurai district: Thiruvaduthurai (39 survey numbers), Kathiramangalam, Thiruvalangadu, Pandaravadai and Valuvur. Thiruvarur district: Kaduvangudi (27), Surakkudi and Vandaampalai.
Thanjavur district: Thiruvidaimaruthur (10), Sakkottai Karuppur, Mahathanapuram and Govindapuram (61/1). Thoothukkudi district: Srivaikuntam (20), Karungulam, Puraiyur, Seidunganallur, Alwarkarkulam, Kongarayakurichi, Keela Tiruchendur and Veeramanikkam. Namakkal district: Thokkavadi and Belukkurichi. Kancheepuram district: Devikapuram (Additional).
What to do if your land is listed
First check whether your exact survey number and subdivision appear in the Gazette notification for your village. A village being named does not mean every survey number in it is affected.
If your land is listed, collect your patta, chitta, adangal, FMB sketch and title deeds, and keep them ready. Contact the Special Tahsildar (Land Acquisition) or the District Revenue Officer handling the State Highways acquisition in your district to learn the stage reached for your survey number.
If you are buying land in any of these villages, ask the seller for the survey number and subdivision, check them against the notifications, and obtain an encumbrance certificate. Land under acquisition may pass to the Government, and a buyer generally cannot claim more than the seller could.