What land is being acquired and where
The project widens State Highway 37, the road linking Oddanchatram, Dharapuram and Tiruppur, to four lanes. Land along the route is being acquired to provide the wider road.
The acquisition covers 428 survey numbers. They fall in two districts, Dindigul and Tiruppur, and in the taluks recorded as Oddanchatram (also written Ottanchatram), Dharapuram and Tiruppur South.
All six notices were issued under the Tamil Nadu Highways Act, 2001 and published in the state Gazette. This is a state road project, so the National Highways Act procedure of section 3A and 3D notices does not apply here.
The notices and their stage
Under section 15(1) of the Tamil Nadu Highways Act, 2001, the State Government may acquire land needed for a highway by publishing a notice in the Gazette. Under section 15(2), once the notice is published, the land vests in the Government free from encumbrances. Compensation is then determined separately under the Act.
Six notifications have been issued for this project: 4 February 2016 (1 village), 19 February 2016 (3 villages), 16 June 2016 (2 villages), 12 March 2018 (5 villages), 12 September 2020 (6 villages) and 21 May 2024 (1 village).
The notice of 4 February 2016 was corrected later. Owners in that notice should read the correction alongside the original, as details such as survey or subdivision numbers may have changed.
No notice for this project has been fully withdrawn, and no village shows any withdrawn survey numbers. The records available here do not show whether possession has been taken or whether compensation has been paid for any particular parcel.
Villages covered
Dindigul district, Oddanchatram (Ottanchatram) taluk: Poosaripatty (129 survey numbers), Mandavadi (43), Ottanchatram (30), Kariyampatti (19), Ambilikai (8), Thangachiyammapatti (6) and Poosaripatti (1).
Tiruppur district, Dharapuram taluk: Ponnivadi (117), Varapalayam (51), Dharapuram Suriyanallur (5), Nanjayampalayam (3), Dharapuram North (1) and Suriyanallur (1).
Tiruppur district, other taluks: Kallimandayam, recorded under Oddanchatram taluk (13), and South Avinashipalayam in Tiruppur South taluk (1).
Some names appear in more than one spelling in the Gazette, such as Poosaripatty and Poosaripatti, or Suriyanallur and Dharapuram Suriyanallur. If you own land in any of these, check every spelling, as the notice may record your village under either form.
What to do if your land is listed
First, obtain a copy of the Gazette notification that names your village. Match your survey number and subdivision number exactly against the schedule, along with the extent shown. Do not rely on the village name alone.
Next, compare the notice with your patta, chitta and the field measurement sketch. If the extent taken is only part of your survey number, note the balance area that remains with you.
For compensation, apply to and follow up with the office of the District Collector or the land acquisition officer handling the highway project for your district. Keep your title documents, patta and encumbrance certificate ready to prove your claim.
If you are buying land on this route, ask the seller for the survey number and check it against all six notices and the correction to the 2016 notice. Land covered by a published section 15 notice vests in the Government, so a sale of that portion gives the buyer only a claim to compensation, if any remains.