G.O. Ms. No. 526, Revenue and Disaster Management, Land Administration Wing

What the notification does

G.O. Ms. No. 526 of the Revenue and Disaster Management Department, Land Administration Wing, sets an authority threshold for land acquisition for a public purpose. Where the land acquisition area in a district does not exceed six hundred hectares, the District Collector is deemed to be the appropriate Government in relation to that acquisition.

The Governor of Tamil Nadu issued the notification under the proviso to clause (e) of Section 3 of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.

What changed

G.O. Ms. No. 526 replaces the earlier Revenue and Disaster Management Department Notification No. SRO A-41 (C-2)/2017, which was published in the Tamil Nadu Government Gazette, Extraordinary, on 21 September 2017.

Key points are:

• The notified limit is six hundred hectares.
• The limit applies separately in the respective district.
• For an acquisition not exceeding that area, the District Collector is deemed to be the appropriate Government.
• The acquisition must be in respect of a public purpose.
• The earlier notification dated 21 September 2017 is superseded.

Who may be affected

G.O. Ms. No. 526 is relevant to landowners, buyers and professionals dealing with land that may be acquired for a public purpose. For an acquisition within the notified area limit, the District Collector has the status of the appropriate Government for that acquisition in the district.

The notification does not identify any particular survey number, property, village or acquisition project. It establishes who is treated as the appropriate Government based on the area proposed for acquisition.

What to check for a property

A person reviewing a possible public purpose acquisition should check:

• whether the property is included in a separate land acquisition proceeding;
• the total area covered by that proceeding;
• whether the area is within six hundred hectares in the relevant district; and
• whether the District Collector is acting as the appropriate Government for that acquisition.

The Gazette notification itself only establishes the six hundred hectare authority limit. It does not provide property-specific acquisition details.