Land Acquired by the Government in Telangana: Compensation and Your Rights

This guide is for land and house owners around Hyderabad, in Ranga Reddy, Medchal-Malkajgiri, Sangareddy, Yadadri Bhuvanagiri and nearby districts, whose land is being acquired for a road, ring road, industrial park, reservoir or other project. It explains the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, what Telangana’s amendment changes, the notices and time limits, how compensation is calculated, rehabilitation and resettlement, how to challenge an award, and the separate route for national highways.

Which law applies · Telangana’s amendment · Notices and objections · How compensation is calculated · Rehabilitation and resettlement · Payment and possession · Challenging the award · National highways · Old acquisitions · Checklist

Which law applies

• The 2013 Act: Act 30 of 2013 came into force on 1 January 2014 and repealed the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (section 114(1)). It applies “when the appropriate Government acquires land for its own use, hold and control, including for Public Sector Undertakings and for public purpose” (section 2(1)).
• Not every project: the Act “shall not apply to the enactments relating to land acquisition specified in the Fourth Schedule” (section 105(1)). These include the National Highways Act, 1956, the Metro Railways (Construction of Works) Act, 1978, the Electricity Act, 2003 and the Railways Act, 1989. See national highways below.
• Check the notification: check which law the notification is issued under; the procedure and the time limits depend on it.

Telangana’s amendment

Telangana amended the 2013 Act by the “Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Telangana Amendment) Act, 2016”, published as Act No. 21 of 2017 in the Telangana Gazette of 17 May 2017 after the President’s assent on 12 May 2017 (quoted here from the Gazette copy hosted by the FAO’s FAOLEX database). It “shall be deemed to have come into effect on 1st January, 2014” (section 1(2)). A central bare act text without these changes is not the law as it applies in Telangana.

• Exemptions (section 10A): the State Government “may, in the public interest, by notification in the Official Gazette, exempt” five kinds of project from Chapter II (Social Impact Assessment) and Chapter III (food security): projects vital to national security or defence, “infrastructure including electrification and irrigation projects”, affordable housing and housing for the poor, industrial corridors set up by the State Government and its undertakings, and infrastructure projects, including public-private partnership projects, “where the ownership of the land continues to vest with the Government”. Before notifying, the State must ensure the extent is “the minimum land required for such project”. Each exemption needs its own notification.
• Consent of affected families: the 2013 Act requires the prior consent of 80% of affected families for private companies and 70% for public-private partnership projects (section 2(2)). The Telangana amendment exempts section 10A projects from that requirement.
• Consent award (section 23A): if “all the persons interested in the land who appeared before him have agreed in writing”, the Collector “may, without making further enquiry, make an award according to the terms of such agreement”. Such an award “shall not in any way affect the determination of compensation in respect of other lands in the same locality”.
• Purchase by agreement (section 30A): the State or its authorised officer may “enter into an agreement with the willing land owner to sell the land in favour of the State”, and on Gazette notification the title “shall vest with the State, free from all encumbrances”. Other affected families get a lump sum towards rehabilitation and resettlement as prescribed, and neither the agreement nor the lump sum “shall be abnormally at variance to the disadvantage of the land owners.”
• Lump sum in place of resettlement (section 31A): for section 10A projects the State may pay “such lump sum amount as may be prescribed in the rules in lieu of Rehabilitation and Resettlement”, not “abnormally at variance to the disadvantage of the affected families.”
• Recovery (section 33A): if the Authority, the High Court or another authority finds “that the money has been wrongfully paid to any person”, it may be recovered “as arrears of land revenue”.
• Return of unused land (section 101): the central Act provides for return of land “unutilised for a period of five years from the date of taking over the possession”, to the original owners or their heirs or to the Government’s Land Bank. Telangana replaced “a period of five years” with “a period specified for setting up of any project or for five years, whichever is later”.

The amendment does not change the market value, multiplier and solatium provisions (sections 26 to 30), the 60-day objection period, the 12-month limit for the award, possession, urgency, the reference to the Authority (section 64), the appeal to the High Court (section 74) or interest (section 80).

Notices, objections and declaration

• Social Impact Assessment: before acquiring, the Government “shall consult the concerned Panchayat, Municipality or Municipal Corporation … and carry out a Social Impact Assessment study” (section 4(1)), with a public hearing in the affected area (section 5). The Telangana Rules, 2014 (G.O.Ms.No.50, 19 December 2014; copy hosted by FAOLEX) say the draft report is published in Telugu a week before the hearing and the hearing is held in Telugu and video recorded. A project exempted under section 10A does not go through this step.
• Preliminary notification (section 11): published in the Gazette, two daily newspapers (one in the regional language), the local body and Collector’s offices, and the Government website. From that date, “No person shall make any transaction or cause any transaction of land specified in the preliminary notification or create any encumbrances on such land” until the proceedings are completed, unless the Collector exempts the owner (section 11(4)).
• Objections within 60 days: “Any person interested in any land which has been notified … may within sixty days from the date of the publication of the preliminary notification, object to (a) the area and suitability of land proposed to be acquired; (b) justification offered for public purpose; (c) the findings of the Social Impact Assessment report” (section 15(1)). The objector is heard “in person or by any person authorised by him in this behalf or by an Advocate”, and the Government’s decision on the objections “shall be final” (section 15(2) and (3)).
• Declaration (section 19): it is “conclusive evidence that the land is required for a public purpose” (section 19(6)). If no declaration is made within twelve months of the preliminary notification, the notification “shall be deemed to have been rescinded”, but stay periods are excluded and the Government has “the power to extend the period of twelve months” (section 19(7)).
• Notice of claims (section 21): the Collector invites “claims to compensations and rehabilitation and resettlement for all interests in such land”, and requires interested persons to appear “personally or by agent or advocate” on a date not less than thirty days and not more than six months after the notice.
• The award: “The Collector shall make an award within a period of twelve months from the date of publication of the declaration under section 19 and if no award is made within that period, the entire proceedings for the acquisition of the land shall lapse”, subject to the Government’s power to extend (section 25).

How compensation is calculated

• Market value (section 26(1)): the higher of the market value under the Indian Stamp Act, 1899, “the average sale price for similar type of land situated in the nearest village or nearest vicinity area”, or the consented amount for private or public-private partnership projects. The date for market value is the date of the section 11 notification.
• Average sale price: it uses sale deeds or agreements to sell registered “during immediately preceding three years”, and “one-half of the total number of sale deeds or the agreements to sell in which the highest sale price has been mentioned shall be taken into account.” Earlier acquisition compensation in the district is not considered.
• Multiplier: market value is multiplied by a factor in the First Schedule: “1(One)” in urban areas, and in rural areas “1.00 (One) to 2.00 (Two) based on the distance of project from urban area, as may be notified by the appropriate Government.” Rule 28(1) of the Telangana Rules, 2014 says the rural factor “shall be 1.5 other than scheduled areas and 2 for scheduled (tribal) areas subject to any further notification”.
• Assets and other heads: compensation includes “all assets attached to the land” (section 27), with buildings, trees and crops valued by engineers and agricultural experts (section 29), and damage from severance, change of residence and other heads listed in section 28.
• Solatium: the Collector shall “impose a “Solatium” amount equivalent to one hundred per cent. of the compensation amount”, in addition to the compensation (section 30(1)).
• 12% a year: the Collector also awards 12% a year on the market value “for the period commencing on and from the date of the publication of the notification of the Social Impact Assessment study under sub-section (2) of section 4 … till the date of the award of the Collector or the date of taking possession of the land, whichever is earlier” (section 30(3)).
• No tax or stamp duty on the award: “No income tax or stamp duty shall be levied on any award or agreement made under this Act, except under section 46” (section 96). For anything beyond that, ask a tax adviser.

Rehabilitation and resettlement

• Who is an affected family: it includes a family which owns no land but whose members “may be agricultural labourers, tenants … share-croppers or artisans or who may be working in the affected area for three years prior to the acquisition of the land, whose primary source of livelihood stand affected” (section 3(c)(ii)).
• The R&R award: “The Collector shall pass Rehabilitation and Resettlement Awards for each affected family in terms of the entitlements provided in the Second Schedule” (section 31(1)). The Second Schedule includes a house for a family whose house is lost, a choice of a job, a one-time payment of five lakh rupees or an annuity, and a monthly subsistence allowance for displaced families; amounts may be revised by notification.
• Urbanisation: where land is acquired for urbanisation, “twenty per cent. of the developed land will be reserved and offered to land owning project affected families”, at the cost of acquisition and development.
• The Pharma City order: in W.P. Nos. 14670 and 24626 of 2021 (28 July 2026), concerning the Hyderabad Green Pharma City in Yacharam mandal, the Telangana High Court said that “A landless agricultural labourer asserting dependence upon the acquired land is, therefore, not a stranger to the acquisition”, that the duty to determine rehabilitation entitlements “is not extinguished merely because the acquisition has been completed and possession has been taken”, and that such claims cannot be rejected “merely on the ground that a part of the lands comprising the project was procured through negotiated purchase”. It did not set aside the section 19 declarations, citing delay, and directed the District Collector to enquire and pass a reasoned order, without expressing “any opinion on the merits”.

Payment, possession and interest

• Possession after payment: the Collector takes possession “after ensuring that full payment of compensation as well as rehabilitation and resettlement entitlements are paid or tendered” within three months for compensation and six months for the monetary part of resettlement (section 38(1)).
• Payment and deposit: compensation is paid into bank accounts; if a person does not consent to receive it, or title or apportionment is disputed, it is deposited with the Authority (section 77).
• Receiving under protest: a person may “receive such payment under protest as to the sufficiency of the amount”, but “no person who has received the amount otherwise than under protest shall be entitled to make any application under sub-section (1) of section 64” (section 77(2)).
• Late payment: if compensation is not paid or deposited when possession is taken, interest is 9% a year from possession, and 15% a year if not paid within one year (section 80).
• Urgency: urgency is restricted to “the defence of India or national security or for any emergencies arising out of natural calamities or any other emergency with the approval of Parliament” (section 40(2)), with 80% of compensation tendered first and an additional 75% compensation.

Challenging the award

• Reference to the Authority (section 64): “Any person interested who has not accepted the award may, by written application to the Collector, require that the matter be referred by the Collector for the determination of the Authority”, whether the objection is to measurement, the amount of compensation, the person to whom it is payable, resettlement rights, or apportionment. The Collector must refer within thirty days, and if he does not, the applicant may ask the Authority to direct him to.
• Time limits: a person “present or represented before the Collector at the time when he made his award” applies “within six weeks from the date of the Collector’s award”; in other cases, “within six weeks of the receipt of the notice from the Collector under section 21, or within six months from the date of the Collector’s award, whichever period shall first expire”. The Collector may entertain a late application “within a further period of one year, if he is satisfied that there was sufficient cause” (section 64(2)).
• What the Authority considers: whether the Collector followed sections 26 to 30 and Chapter V (section 69(1)). It awards 12% a year on the market value from the date of the section 11 preliminary notification to the award or possession, whichever is earlier, and “a solatium of one hundred per cent. over the total compensation amount” (section 69(2) and (3)). The Authority is to dispose of a reference within six months (section 60(4)).
• Others under the same notification: if the Authority awards more, others whose land was covered by the same preliminary notification may apply to the Collector “within three months from the date of the award of the Authority” to have their compensation re-determined (section 73(1)).
• Appeal to the High Court: “The Requiring Body or any person aggrieved by the Award passed by an Authority under section 69 may file an appeal to the High Court within sixty days from the date of Award”, with up to sixty more days for sufficient cause (section 74(1)).
• Civil courts: no civil court other than the High Court under Articles 226 and 227 and the Supreme Court “shall have jurisdiction to entertain any dispute relating to land acquisition in respect of which the Collector or the Authority is empowered” (section 63).
• Correcting mistakes: the Collector may correct “clerical or arithmetical mistakes” in the award within six months, or before making a reference (section 33(1)).

Whether a reference or appeal is worthwhile depends on the evidence of land values and the facts. See our guide on writ petitions in the Telangana High Court.

National highways

• A separate Act: the National Highways Act, 1956, which is in the Fourth Schedule, has its own acquisition procedure. As quoted by the Supreme Court in Union of India v Tarsem Singh (19 September 2019), section 3C allows an interested person to object “within twenty-one days” of the section 3A notification, by objecting “to the use of the land for the purpose or purposes mentioned”, and section 3G provides that if the amount fixed by the competent authority “is not acceptable to either of the parties”, it is determined “by the arbitrator to be appointed by the Central Government”.
• Compensation schedules apply: the Central Government’s order of 28 August 2015, in force from 1 September 2015 (as quoted in Tarsem Singh), applies the 2013 Act’s First, Second and Third Schedules on compensation, rehabilitation and amenities “to all cases of land acquisition under the enactments specified in the Fourth Schedule”.
• Solatium and interest: in Tarsem Singh (2019), the Supreme Court declared that solatium and interest under the 1894 Act “will apply to acquisitions made under the National Highways Act”. In 2025 it refused to make that ruling prospective, saying it is “limited to granting ‘solatium’ and ‘interest’ to aggrieved landowners whose lands were acquired by NHAI between 1997 and 2015”, and that this “cannot be equated to reopening of cases or revisiting the decisions that have already attained finality”.
• Challenging an arbitral award: such an award is challenged under section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, which says an application “may not be made after three months have elapsed” from receipt of the award, with up to thirty more days for sufficient cause (as quoted in NHAI v T. Younis, 2 June 2026).

Old acquisitions under the 1894 Act

• Section 24(1): for proceedings begun under the 1894 Act with no award by 1 January 2014, compensation is determined under the 2013 Act; where an award was made, the proceedings continue under the 1894 Act.
• Lapse: in Indore Development Authority v Manoharlal (6 March 2020), a Constitution Bench held that under section 24(2) “in case possession has been taken, compensation has not been paid then there is no lapse. Similarly, if compensation has been paid, possession has not been taken then there is no lapse”, that “paid” does not include a deposit in court, but “Non-deposit of compensation (in court) does not result in the lapse of land acquisition proceedings”, that a person to whom compensation was tendered, or who refused it or sought a reference, cannot claim lapse, and that section 24(2) “does not revive stale and time-barred claims and does not reopen concluded proceedings”. Telangana’s amendment further limits the section 24(2) proviso to awards made five years or more before the Act and excludes stay periods.
• Delay: in a 2024 Nadergul (Ranga Reddy) case, the Telangana High Court dismissed writ petitions filed “approximately after a period of four (4) years from the date of passing of the Awards”, for delay, laches and acquiescence.

Checklist

• The notification: which Act, its date, and whether a section 10A exemption has been notified for the project.
• Your title documents and the Bhu Bharati or municipal records, updated before the declaration.
• Recent registered sale deeds of similar land nearby, for market value.
• Objections within 60 days of the preliminary notification (21 days under the National Highways Act, as quoted).
• Your claim at the section 21 hearing, including buildings, trees, crops and other assets.
• If you disagree with the amount, receive it “under protest” and apply for a reference within the section 64 time limits.
• For tenants, labourers and share-croppers: your claim as an affected family for rehabilitation and resettlement.
• Copies of the award. Section 37(3) requires the Collector to display on a website a summary of the proceedings, including the compensation awarded to each person, and section 96 says no fee is payable for a copy of an award.

Related guides: buying agricultural land, HYDRAA notices, section 22-A list, illegal possession and writ petitions.

For a discussion about a land acquisition notice, an award or a reference with Musab Hashmi & Associates, call +91 89771 24916 or send an enquiry. Do not include identity numbers or copies of documents in the first message.

General legal information, not legal advice. Checked on 29 October 2026 against the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 (India Code text as hosted by the Tripura High Court), the Telangana Amendment Act, Act No. 21 of 2017 (Telangana Gazette copy hosted by FAOLEX), the Telangana State Rules, 2014 under G.O.Ms.No.50 of 19 December 2014 (copy hosted by FAOLEX), the Supreme Court judgments in Indore Development Authority v Manoharlal (6 March 2020), Union of India v Tarsem Singh (19 September 2019 and 4 February 2025) and NHAI v T. Younis (2 June 2026), and the Telangana High Court’s orders in W.P. Nos. 14670 and 24626 of 2021 (28 July 2026) and W.P. Nos. 7617, 7622 and 7623 of 2010 (14 February 2024).