Chapter II Survey and Maintenance of Record

1. (1) The State Government may, whenever it thinks fit, order, by notification in the Official Gazette, that a survey shall be made of any urban area within the State or any part thereof and such urban area or. as the case may be, part thereof shall thereupon be deemed to be under survey.
2. (2) The State Government may, by the same or a subsequent notification, direct that a urban body having jurisdiction over such urban area or part thereof shall be incharge of the survey so ordered.
3. (3) The urban body, incharge of such survey, shall, in relation thereto, exercise such powers and perform such duties as may be specified in the notification referred to in sub-section (2).
4. (4) Where no urban body is directed to be incharge of any survey ordered under subsection (1), any other officer of the State Government appointed for the purpose shall be incharge of such survey and where no such officer is appointed, the Collector of the District shall be incharge of such survey.
5. (5) The survey ordered under sub-section (1) shall be conducted in the prescribed manner by such officers and servants as are appointed by the State Government for the purpose and after such appointment such officers and servants shall be the officers and servants conducting survey.
6. (6) The State Government may appoint additional officers and servants as it may think necessary to assist the officers appointed under sub-section (5) and every officer appointed under this sub-section shall exercise such powers and perform such duties as may be prescribed.

The officer conducting the survey shall, for the purposes of this Act, have power, either by himself or by other officers or servants employed in the survey, to enter, between the hours of sunrise and sunset, upon any land or premises within the urban area or part thereof under survey, without being liable to any legal proceedings whatsoever on account of such entry or anything done on such land or premises in pursuance of the provision of this Act: Provided that no such entry shall be made upon any land or premises which may be occupied at any time, unless with the consent of the occupier thereof, or without previously giving the said occupier twenty four hours notice of the intention to do so.

Before entering on any land or premises for the purposes of survey, the officer conducting the survey shall cause a notice in writing under his hand to be served on the owner or occupier of the land or premises about to be surveyed and on the owners or occupiers of coterminous lands or premises, calling upon them to attend either personally or by an authorized agent on such land or premises before him or before such officer as may be authorized by him in that behalf within a specified time (which shall not be less than three days after the service of such notice) for the purpose of pointing out boundaries and of affording such information as may be needed for the purposes of this Act, and every person on whom such notice may be served shall be bound to attend as required by the notice and to give any information which may be required so far as he may be able to give it.

After due service of notice under section 6 -

1. (i) the officer conducting survey or any other officer or servant authorized by him in his behalf may proceed with the survey whether the persons upon whom such notice has been served are present or not; and
2. (ii) every such person who fails to appear or present as required by the said notice shall be bound by the results of the survey in the same manner and to the same extent as if the survey were made in his presence.

1. (1) The officer conducting survey shall prepare a map, register and field book of the urban area or part thereof under survey.
2. (2) Lands and premises of such urban area or part thereof shall be shown on the map and indicative survey number to be assigned to every piece of land shall be shown separately in the prescribed manner.
3. (3) The officer conducting survey shall also prepare for the urban area or part thereof under survey, a register of all lands and premises therein which have been surveyed.
4. (4) The register prepared under sub-section (3) shall specify, in relation to each indicative survey number assigned under sub-section (2), the name of the person or persons appearing at the time of survey to be the owner or person having interest and any other particulars as may be prescribed.

The officer conducting the survey may at any time cause to be erected on any land, which is to be or has been, surveyed under this Act, temporary or permanent boundary marks of such materials and in such number and manner as he may determine to be sufficient for the purpose of survey.

1. (1) When any temporary boundary mark has been erected under section 9, the officer conducting the survey may cause a notice to be served on owner or occupier of land or premises whereon, or adjoining which, such boundary mark is situate, requiring him to maintain and keep in repair such boundary mark till the survey is completed.
2. (2) Where such owner or occupier does not comply with such notice, the officer conducting survey may repair the boundary mark and expenses incurred in doing so shall be recoverable from such owner or occupier as arrears of land revenue.

1. (1) If in the course of a survey under this Act, a dispute is found to exist as to the boundaries of any land or premises to be surveyed, an inquiry shall be held by an officer specifically authorized in this behalf, for the purpose of determining such dispute.
2. (2) The officer authorized under sub-section (1) shall cause a notice in writing under his hand to be served on the parties concerned requiring them to appear before him, in person or by authorized agent, on a specified day and to produce evidence of possession of the land or premises in dispute.
3. (3) On the specified day or on such other day to which the hearing may be adjourned, the officer authorized under sub-section (1) shall hear the parties, receive the evidence produced by them respectively, consider the effect of such evidence, take such further evidence as he may think necessary and without reference to the merits of the claim of any of such parties to a right to possess the land or premises in dispute, decide which party is in possession of said land or premises at the time of the survey.
4. (4) For the purposes of the inquiry, the officer authorized under sub-section (1) shall have power to summon and enforce attendance of witnesses and compel the production of documents by the same means and in the same manner as is provided in the case of a court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (Central Act No. 5 of 1908).
5. (5) After the inquiry has been completed, the officer authorized under sub-section (1) shall pass an order in writing defining clearly the subject of dispute and recording his decision and.assigning clearly the reasons for such decision.
6. (6) An appeal against the order passed under sub-section (5) shall lie to the Tribunal and such appeal may be preferred within sixty days from the date of such order.

1. (1) As soon as may be, after completion of survey operations in any urban area, the officer incharge of survey shall send all maps, registers and other documents including files on which decisions were recorded and other papers connected with survey to such urban body in whose local area the survey was conducted or to such other authority or department of the State Government as the State Government may specify by general or special order for safe custody of record of survey.
2. (2) If the State Government is satisfied with the survey and approves it, the fact of such satisfaction and approval shall be notified in the Official Gazette.

1. (1) All maps, registers and other documents including connected files and other papers which were part of survey operations and are deposited with the concerned urban body or any other authority or department of the State Government, shall be kept in safe custody by such body, authority or department of the State Government and shall be maintained by such body, authority or department in the manner as may be prescribed.
2. (2) The urban body, any other authority or department of the State Government which is entrusted with the safe custody and maintenance of the survey records shall cause such maps and entries in registers to be revised and corrected at such intervals and in such manner as may be prescribed and by such officer as may be appointed or authorized in this behalf by the State Government by notification in the Official Gazette.
3. (3) The revision or correction of entries in the register, maps and other record shall be carried out by the officer appointed or, as the case may be, authorized under subsection (2) in the prescribed manner.
4. (4) The officer appointed or authorized under sub-section (2) for the purpose of revising or correcting maps and registers under this Act shall exercise such powers and proceed in such manner as may be prescribed.

1. (1) The owner, title holder or occupier of the land or premises which has been surveyed under this Act shall be liable to pay to the officer or authority incharge of the survey, a fee at such rate, in such manner, within such time after the completion of survey and to such extent, as the State Government may prescribe and any survey fee not so paid shall be recoverable as arrears of land revenue: Provided that -
   • (a) the aggregate amount of survey fee leviable from owners, title holders or occupiers of lands or premises in the urban area or part thereof under survey shall not exceed one third of the total cost of the survey; and
   • (b) no survey fee shall be payable, -
     • (i) by the Central Government or the State Government or by an urban body; or
     • (ii) in respect of any such land or premises, area or value of which not exceed such limits as may be prescribed; or
     • (iii) in respect of land or premises held exclusively for religious worship or charitable purposes.
2. (2) Every owner, holder of title or occupier of land or premises who has paid the survey fee under this section shall be entitled to receive free of charge, and every owner, holder of title or occupier who is not liable to pay such survey fee shall be entitled to receive on payment of such charges, as may be prescribed, a certified extract from the map and a certified extract from the register prepared under this Act so far as they relate to such land or premises.

Subject to the provisions of section 14, the cost of every survey made under this Act shall be met -

1. (i) in case of an urban body in whose local area the survey is conducted, by such urban body; and
2. (ii) in other cases by the State Government: Provided that in the cases covered by clause (i), the State Government may agree -

1. (a) to pay a portion of such cost out of Consolidated Fund of the State, or
2. (b) to advance loan to the urban body for meeting such cost upon such terms and conditions as may be mutually agreed upon.

Whoever fails to comply with a requisition contained in any notice issued under this Act and duly served shall be liable to fine not exceed rupees one thousand.

1. (1) All maps, registers and other documents referred to in sub-section (1) of section 13 shall be open for public inspection in such manner, within such hours, at such places, subject to such conditions and on payment of such fee as the State Government may prescribe.
2. (2) Certified copies of, or, as the case may be, extracts from, such maps, registers and documents shall be granted on payment of such copying fee and in such manner as the State Government may prescribe.

The State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, make rules not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act -

1. (i) for preparation of maps and registers, the forms thereof, and the collection and record of information in respect of any land or premises within the urban area under survey;
2. (ii) for regulation of all proceedings to be taken under this Act;
3. (iii) for the manner of all inquires to be made thereunder;
4. (iv) for regulation of all matters which are required to be, or may be, prescribed under this Act; and
5. (v) generally for proper performance of all things to be done under this Act and carrying out of the purposes and provisions thereof.

No proceedings under this Act shall be affected by reasons of any informality, provided that the provisions thereof have, in substance and effect, been complied with.

All maps and all entries made in the registers prepared under this Act shall be presumed to be correct unless the contrary is proved: Provided that no such map or entry shall affect the right, title or interest of any person to or in any land or premises or shall preclude him from enforcing such right, title or interest in a competent court in accordance with law.