What land is being acquired for NH 45C and where
The notices acquire land for the NH 45C national highway. Together they list 1,888 survey numbers in 45 villages.
The villages fall in five districts: Thanjavur, Cuddalore, Viluppuram, Ariyalur and Thiruvarur. Within these districts, 13 taluks are affected: Bhuvanagiri, Kattumannarkoil, Kumbakonam, Kurinjipadi, Panruti, Papanasam, Srimushnam, Thanjavur, Thiruvidaimarudur, Udayarpalayam, Valangaiman, Vikravandi and Villupuram.
Thanjavur district has the largest share, with 21 villages. The two villages with the most listed survey numbers are Melasemmankudi (149) and Vembukkudi (147), both in Papanasam taluk.
A survey number appearing in a notice does not always mean the whole field is taken. The schedule to each notice gives the extent, often by subdivision. Read the extent in the schedule for your survey number before drawing any conclusion.
The notices, the law and the present stage
All 40 notices were issued under the National Highways Act 1956 and published in the Gazette of India. The first is dated 17 April 2013 and the latest is dated 2 September 2024.
Sixteen are notifications under section 3A. A section 3A notification states the Central Government's intention to acquire the land described in it for a national highway. Its substance must also be published in two local newspapers, one of them in the vernacular language.
After a section 3A notification, any person interested in the land may file objections to the use of the land for the stated purpose under section 3C. The objections must be filed within 21 days of the publication of the notification, before the competent authority, who must hear the objector before deciding them.
Twenty four are declarations under section 3D. Once a section 3D declaration is published in the Official Gazette, the land described in it vests absolutely in the Central Government, free from all encumbrances. The law also provides that if no section 3D declaration is published within one year of the section 3A notification, that notification ceases to have effect, subject to the time excluded for court stays.
None of the 40 notices has been fully withdrawn, and none is recorded as corrected later. Many villages have been notified in more than one notice, so the stage reached by a particular survey number depends on which notices name it. Confirm the position for your own survey number from the gazette schedules and with the land acquisition office before relying on it.
NH 45C land acquisition villages list
Thanjavur district, Papanasam taluk: Melasemmankudi (149 survey numbers), Vembukkudi (147), Gopurajapuram (60), Annappanpettai (38) and Arulmozhipettai (10).
Thanjavur district, Kumbakonam taluk: Vilanthakandam (103), Chozhanmaligai (86), Patteeswaram (65), Asur (54), Valaiyapettai (24), Baburajapuram (18), Kottaiyur (2), Muppakovil (2) and Pandaravadai Perumandi (1).
Thanjavur district, Thiruvidaimarudur taluk: Manambadi (71), Thiruppanandal West (69), Senkanur (63) and Pattam (2). Thanjavur taluk: Kondavattanthidal (34), Puliyanthoppu (10) and Kanjanayakkan Thottam (2).
Cuddalore district: Sathipattu (125) and Kanisappakkam (30) in Panruti taluk; Rasakuppam (108), Vadakuthu (82) and Maruvai (64) in Kurinjipadi taluk; Cholatharam (91) in Kattumannarkoil taluk; Nangudi (75), Nantheeswaramangalam (13) and Kodhandavilaham (7) in Srimushnam taluk; Meralur (18) and Pinnalur (14) in Bhuvanagiri taluk.
Viluppuram district, Villupuram taluk: Kallipattu (55), Salaiyampalayam (West) (44), Panangkuppam (34), Arasamangalam (14), Venkatadri Agaram (5), Koliyanur (4), Mazhavarayanur (3) and Mathirimangalam (1). Vikravandi taluk: Kappiyampuliyur (3) and Panaiyapuram (1).
Ariyalur district, Udayarpalayam taluk: Kundaveli (E) (57) and Vembukudi (8). Thiruvarur district, Valangaiman taluk: Nallur (22).
Note that Vembukkudi in Papanasam taluk of Thanjavur and Vembukudi in Udayarpalayam taluk of Ariyalur are separate villages. Check the taluk and district as well as the village name.
What to do if your land is listed
First, match your survey number and subdivision exactly against the schedule in each notice that names your village. Compare the extent shown with your patta and the FMB sketch, so you know whether all or only part of your land is affected.
Second, find out the stage. If your land appears only in a section 3A notification, check whether the 21 day period for objections under section 3C is still open and whether a section 3D declaration has followed. If a section 3D declaration covers it, the land has already vested in the Central Government.
Third, on compensation, the amount is determined by the competent authority under section 3G of the Act, after notice to the persons interested. Since 2015, the compensation provisions of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act 2013 have applied to acquisitions under the National Highways Act. If the amount determined is not acceptable to either side, the Act allows an application to an arbitrator appointed by the Central Government. Keep your title documents, patta, encumbrance certificate and any lease or mortgage papers ready, because the competent authority will ask for proof of interest.
For buyers, a survey number named in a section 3D declaration is not the seller's to sell for the acquired extent. Before you pay any advance, check the gazette schedules, obtain a current encumbrance certificate, and confirm with the taluk office and the competent authority for land acquisition whether the survey number, or part of it, is under acquisition and whether compensation has already been paid.