Official guidance, Tamil Nadu land law
G.O. (Ms.) No. 372, Extension of One Time House Site Patta Scheme, 2014
The Tamil Nadu Revenue Department [Ni.Mu.1(2)] issued Government Order (Standing) Number 372 on 26 August 2014, extending the one time special scheme for regularising eligible residential occupation of unobjectionable government land and issuing house site pattas from 1 October 2013 to 31 March 2015. The extension covers people who had built houses and were living on such land before 1 June 2007, subject to the conditions in the earlier government orders and official verification.
Purpose
The Tamil Nadu Revenue Department [Ni.Mu.1(2)] issued Government Order (Standing) Number 372 on 26 August 2014. It extends the one time special house site patta scheme, which had ended on 30 September 2013, for the period from 1 October 2013 to 31 March 2015.
The scheme is intended to benefit poor people who were left out of the government’s free house site programme. It allows eligible residential occupation of unobjectionable government land to be regularised and a house site patta to be issued.
Who may be affected
Government Order (Standing) Number 372 applies to people who:
- Built houses on unobjectionable government land.
- Were living there before 1 June 2007.
- Meet the conditions contained in Government Order (Standing) Number 854 of the Revenue Department, dated 30 December 2006, and the later orders governing the scheme.
A person occupying government land does not receive a patta automatically. The earlier scheme requires field inspection by a committee headed by the District Collector, resolutions from the relevant local bodies, and a finding that the land is not required by the government.
For a buyer or owner, residential occupation by itself should not be treated as proof that regularisation was completed. The document provides a route for eligible occupants to receive pattas after official scrutiny.
Key provisions and background
Government Order (Standing) Number 372 provides that:
- The scheme period is extended until 31 March 2015.
- Regularisation is limited to occupation before 1 June 2007 on unobjectionable government land.
- The Additional Chief Secretary and Commissioner of Land Administration and all District Collectors must take the required action.
- Earlier scheme conditions continue to govern regularisation and patta issue.
The document records that earlier orders removed the income ceiling for free assignment under this scheme. It also records plot limits of 4 cents in rural areas, 2.5 cents in municipal areas and 2 cents in corporation areas.
An earlier attempt to reduce the required residential occupation period from five years to three years was ordered by the Madras High Court not to be implemented until disposal of the case. The government stated that it was taking separate action to have that direction removed.
Administrative targets
The Revenue Department announced a target of 3 lakh house site pattas for 2014-2015. The attached district table gives a combined proposed regular target of 339,000 pattas, with separate figures for each district. These administrative targets do not replace the eligibility checks required for an individual patta.
This summary is generated from the source document to help you find what is relevant. The PDF above is authoritative. For advice on your own property, use LandLens One or speak to a qualified professional.
Common questions
Can I get a patta under this scheme if I occupied the land after 1 June 2007?
Not under the extension described in Government Order (Standing) Number 372. It is limited to people who had occupied and lived on unobjectionable government land before 1 June 2007.
Does living on government land automatically give me a house site patta?
No. The scheme requires field inspection, a resolution from the local body and confirmation that the land is not required by the government, along with compliance with the earlier scheme conditions.
Until when was the one time special scheme extended?
The Tamil Nadu Revenue Department extended the scheme from 1 October 2013 to 31 March 2015.
Was the residential occupation requirement reduced to three years?
An earlier government order reduced it from five years to three years, but the Madras High Court directed that reduction not to be implemented until the case was decided. The document says the government was taking separate action to remove that direction.
