What land is being acquired and where
The land is being acquired for the widening of the Mayiladuthurai to Tiruvarur Road, State Highway 23, and for a bypass at Manganallur. This is a state road, so the acquisition is under the Tamil Nadu Highways Act, 2001. It is not a National Highways Act acquisition, and no section 3D declaration under that Act applies here.
The notifications cover 466 survey numbers in 14 villages. The villages are in four taluks: Kumbakonam in Thanjavur district, Kuthalam in Mayiladuthurai district, Nagapattinam in Nagapattinam district, and Nannilam in Thiruvarur district.
Nannilam taluk has the largest number of villages in the list, seven in all. The single village with the most survey numbers is Thippirajapuram in Kumbakonam taluk, with 136.
The notices and their stage
Nine notifications have been published in the Tamil Nadu Government Gazette. The first is dated 2 July 2020 and the latest is dated 11 January 2021. Each covers between one and three villages.
The dates are 2 July, 7 July, 14 July, 23 July, 5 September, 12 September, 18 September and 17 December 2020, and 11 January 2021. All nine were issued under the Tamil Nadu Highways Act, 2001.
None of the nine notifications has been withdrawn, either fully or for any village, and none has been corrected by a later notice. On the gazette record, therefore, every survey number notified remains under acquisition.
Under the Act, the acquisition notice is issued under section 15(1). Once such a notice is published in the gazette, the Act treats the notified land as vesting in the Government, and the owner's claim becomes a claim for compensation. The gazette record does not show whether compensation has been determined or paid, or whether possession has been taken. Those facts must be checked with the land acquisition office.
Villages covered by the notifications
Thanjavur district, Kumbakonam taluk: Thippirajapuram, 136 survey numbers.
Mayiladuthurai district, Kuthalam taluk: Pandaravadai, 103 survey numbers; Kalanivasal, 38; Peruncheri, 23.
Thiruvarur district, Nannilam taluk: Seruvaalur, 70 survey numbers; Surakkudi, 24; Moongilkkudi, 23; Thothukkudi, 12; Kollumangudi, 6; Peralam, 6; Thirumiachchur, 1.
Nagapattinam district, Nagapattinam taluk: Aadhalaiyur, 11 survey numbers; Kangalanchery, 8; Raranthimangalam, 5.
This list of 14 villages is complete. No other village appears in the notifications for this project.
What to do if your land is listed
First, check whether your survey number and subdivision appear in the notification for your village. A village appearing in the list does not mean every survey number in it is affected. Only the survey numbers and extents set out in the schedule are covered, and often only part of a survey number is taken.
If your land is listed, collect your title deeds, patta, chitta and adangal extracts, and the encumbrance certificate. Approach the land acquisition officer or the Special Tahsildar (Land Acquisition) for highways in your district to confirm the extent notified against your name and the present position on compensation.
If you are buying land in any of these villages, ask the seller for the survey number and subdivision, and compare them with the gazette schedule before you pay any advance. Land that has vested in the Government cannot be validly sold by the earlier owner, and a buyer should not rely on the patta alone, as revenue records may not yet reflect the acquisition.
If the notified extent or the name of the owner is wrong, raise it in writing with the acquisition authority without delay, and take advice from a lawyer on the remedies open to you under the Act.