What land is being acquired and where
The land is being acquired for a new bypass on the Thuraiyur to Perambalur Road, which is State Highway 142. This is a State road project, so the acquisition is carried out by the State Government and not under the National Highways Act.
The acquisition is confined to one district, Perambalur, and one taluk, Alathur. Within that taluk, one village is affected, Nakkasalem, where 32 survey numbers are listed in the notice.
If your land is in Nakkasalem, check your survey number and subdivision against the published notice. A survey number being listed does not always mean the whole survey number is taken. The notice usually specifies the extent being acquired from each subdivision.
The notice, the law and the present stage
The acquisition is under the Tamil Nadu Highways Act, 2001. One notification was issued on 31 March 2020 and published in the State Gazette. No later notice for this project appears in the records available to us.
Under this Act, land needed for a highway is acquired by a notice under section 15(1) published in the Tamil Nadu Government Gazette. Under the scheme of the Act, once that notice is published, the notified land vests in the Government free from encumbrances. Owners and persons interested are then entitled to compensation, which is determined by the officer appointed for the purpose.
On compensation, Tamil Nadu amended the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 in respect of its State acquisition laws, including the Highways Act. Under that amendment, compensation for land taken under these State Acts is to be determined in line with the First Schedule of the 2013 Act. The amount for any particular survey number is fixed in an award. We do not have award details or rates for this project.
The notice has not been withdrawn, and no correction to it is recorded. These records do not show whether awards have been passed, whether compensation has been paid or how far the bypass work has progressed. Confirm these points with the land acquisition office in Perambalur.
Villages covered
Only one village is covered by this project's notice: Nakkasalem, in Alathur taluk, Perambalur district, with 32 survey numbers listed.
No survey numbers in Nakkasalem have been released by withdrawal. No other villages are listed for this project in the records available to us.
What to do if your land is listed
Get a copy of the Gazette notice dated 31 March 2020 and match your survey number, subdivision and extent exactly. Keep your patta, chitta, adangal, FMB sketch and title deeds together, because you will need them to claim compensation.
Visit the Alathur Taluk Office and the land acquisition section of the Perambalur Collectorate, or the Highways Department land acquisition unit handling SH-142. Ask whether an award has been passed for your survey number, what amount has been fixed and how to receive payment. If you were not paid, or you dispute the amount, ask about the remedy available against the award and act within the time allowed.
If you plan to buy land in Nakkasalem, check the survey number against the notice before you pay any advance. Under this Act, notified land vests in the Government on publication, so a seller may not be able to pass good title to the acquired portion. Get an encumbrance certificate, check the current revenue records and ask the seller for written confirmation of the extent outside the notified area.