Chapter II THE SURVEY OF GOVERNMENT LANDS.

The State Government or, subject to the control of the State Government, any officer or authority to whom this power may be delegated by it may by notification order a survey of any Government land or of any boundary of such land or of the boundary forming the common limit of Government land and land that is not Government land.

The Survey Officer shall carry out the survey or shall cause the survey carried out with the assistance of an external or internal agency approved by the Government in the manner prescribed. (1) In order to meet the cost of bringing the land records upto date, their computerization and for conducting a need based re-survey, there shall be levied and collected a one time cess of Rs. 20 per acre on all lands in the State, notwithstanding anything contained in the principal Act. The amount so collected shall be credited to a fund called “Survey and Land Records Fund”. (2) The levy and collection of the cess under sub-section (1) and the expenditure from the Survey and Land Records Fund shall be in such manner as may be prescribed.

(1) The cost, if any, of the labour employed and of the survey marks used in any survey notified under section 5 shall be determined and apportioned in the prescribed manner among the persons who have any interest in the land or in the boundaries of which the survey has been ordered and shall be recoverable from such persons as an arrear of land revenue. Notice of such determination and apportionment shall be given in the prescribed manner to the persons aforesaid. (2) Any person affected by a decision under sub-section (1) may appeal to the prescribed officer whose decision, with reasons therefor, shall be recorded in writing; and notice of such decision shall be given in the prescribed manner to the parties to the appeal. (3) An appeal under sub-section (2) shall be preferred within three months from the date of service of notice under sub-section (1), after excluding the time taken to obtain a copy of the decision: Provided that the appellate authority may admit an appeal after the expiry of the said period on his being satisfied that the appellant had good and sufficient cause for not preferring the appeal within that period. A copy of the order under sub-section (2) shall be furnished to any person interested in such order on his application and at his cost.

(1) The survey officer shall have power to determine and record as undisputed any boundary in respect of which no dispute is brought to his notice.

(2) Notice of every decision of the survey officer under section 9 (1) shall be given in the prescribed manner to the registered holders of the lands the boundaries of which may be affected by the decision.

(1) Where a boundary is disputed, the survey officer, after making such inquiry as he considers necessary, shall determine the boundary and record it in accordance with his decision. The survey officer shall record in writing the reasons for his decision.

(2) Notice of every decision of the survey officer under section 10 (1) shall be given in the prescribed manner to the parties to the dispute and other registered holders of the lands the boundaries of which may be affected by the decision.

When the survey of any land or boundary which has been notified under section 5 has been completed in accordance with the orders passed under section 9, 10 or 11, the survey officer shall notify the fact in the district gazette and a copy of such notification shall be posted in the village chavadi, if any, of the village to which the survey relates; unless the survey so notified is modified by a decree of a civil court under the provisions of section 14, the record of the survey shall be conclusive proof that the boundaries determined and recorded therein have been correctly determined and recorded:

Provided that in the case of land or boundary situated in the territories specified in sub-section (1) of section 3 of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956 until a District Gazette is published for the districts in the said territories, a notification as required by this section shall be published in the Telangana Gazette in lieu of publication in the District Gazette.

Any person deeming himself aggrieved by the determination of any boundary under section 9, 10 or 11 may, subject to the provisions of Parts II and III of the Indian Limitation Act, 1908, institute a suit within three years from the date of the notification under section 13 to set aside or modify the said determination and the survey shaII, if necessary, be altered in accordance with the final decree in the suit and the alteration, if any, shall be noted in the record.

The plaintiff in such suit shall join as parties to it all persons whom he has reason to believe to be interested in the boundary which is the subject of the suit.

(1) Subject to such conditions as may be prescribed in this behalf, every registered holder of Government land shall be bound to maintain, renew and repair the survey marks on or within the boundaries of his holding, and in default of his doing so the survey officer or the Collector may, at the cost of the State Government, maintain, renew and repair such survey marks, determine and apportion the cost of so doing, and recover such cost as an arrear of land revenue. Such cost may include the cost of all operations incidental to such renewal or repair but not any charges on account of survey officers and supervising establishment.

(2) Before a survey officer or Collector maintains, renews or repairs any survey marks, he shall serve a notice in writing on the registered holder in the prescribed manner giving particulars of the survey marks in respect of which default has been committed and calling upon him to maintain, renew or repair the same within a time to be specified in such notice which shall be not less than 15 days from the date of service thereof.

(3) If the notice under sub-clause (2) cannot be served personally on the registered holder, a copy of the same shall be served also on the cultivator or other person interested in the land.

It shall be the duty of every village headman and of every village accountant,-

(a) to prevent the destruction, injury, removal or alteration of any survey mark on or within the limits of his jurisdiction; and

(b) when he becomes aware that any such mark has been destroyed, injured, removed or altered, to report the fact to the prescribed officer.