What land is being acquired and where
The acquisition is for a new railway line between Tindivanam and Tiruvannamalai. The notices cover 258 survey numbers in 4 villages.
Three of the villages are in Viluppuram district: Perunkappur in Gingee taluk, and Melperadikuppam and Salai in Tindivanam taluk. The fourth, Kadambai, is in Tiruvannamalai taluk of Tiruvannamalai district.
All the notices were published in the Tamil Nadu State Gazette. A survey number appearing in a notice may be affected in whole or only in part, so the extent stated against each subdivision in the gazette must be read carefully.
The notices, the laws used and the stage reached
There are 4 notifications in all, and each one covers a single village. The first, dated 15 July 2013, was issued under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894. The other three, dated 8 January 2019, 19 June 2019 and 1 September 2020, were issued under the Tamil Nadu Acquisition of Land for Industrial Purposes Act, 1997.
Under the 1997 Act, the process begins with a notice under section 3(1). It tells the owner and every person interested in the land that the Government proposes to acquire it, and calls on them to show cause, within the time stated in the notice, why it should not be acquired. After considering any cause shown, the Government may order acquisition and publish a declaration, after which the land vests in the Government.
Under the 1894 Act, a preliminary notification under section 4(1) announced that land was needed for a public purpose, objections could be filed under section 5A, and a declaration under section 6 followed. That Act has since been replaced by the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, which contains rules on how older proceedings are treated.
On the records available, none of the 4 notices has been withdrawn and none has been corrected later. The records here do not show whether awards have been passed or possession taken. That must be confirmed with the land acquisition office of the district concerned.
Villages and survey number counts
Perunkappur, Gingee taluk, Viluppuram district: 155 survey numbers. This is the largest share of the acquisition.
Melperadikuppam, Tindivanam taluk, Viluppuram district: 43 survey numbers.
Kadambai, Tiruvannamalai taluk, Tiruvannamalai district: 41 survey numbers.
Salai, Tindivanam taluk, Viluppuram district: 19 survey numbers.
No survey number in any of these villages has been withdrawn from acquisition. These 4 villages are the complete list on record for this project.
What to do if your land is listed
First, check the exact survey number and subdivision against the gazette notification for your village. Match it with your patta, chitta and adangal, and with the field measurement sketch, to see whether the whole plot or only a strip is affected.
If you are an owner, keep your title documents, patta and recent encumbrance certificate ready. Compensation is paid to the persons whose interest is recorded and proved, so any mismatch in the revenue records should be corrected early.
Contact the Special Tahsildar (Land Acquisition) or the District Revenue Officer handling the railway project in Viluppuram or Tiruvannamalai district. Ask for the current stage of the notice covering your village and whether an award has been passed.
If you are a buyer, do not rely only on the seller's word or on an encumbrance certificate. Land under a live acquisition notice will still be acquired after a sale, and a buyer usually steps into the seller's position only for compensation. Get a lawyer to check the gazette and the land acquisition office records before paying any advance.