LexThe Telangana Survey and Boundaries Act, 1923.
Telangana · state statute
Open in Lexace · Ask the AI about this actTHE TELANGANA SURVEY AND BOUNDARIES ACT, 1923.
(ACT NO.VIII OF 1923.)
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
Sections
CHAPTER I.
PRELIMINARY.
1. Title and Local extent.
2. Repeal.
3. Interpretation clause.
4. State Government to appoint survey officers.
CHAPTER II.
THE SURVEY OF GOVERNMENT LANDS.
5. State Government may direct the survey of
Government land or of any boundary of such land.
6. Notification to be published by survey officers.
7. Survey officer to carry out the survey or get the
survey carried out in the manner prescribed.
8. Cost to be charged to persons interested in the
lands surveyed.
9. Power of survey officer to determine and record an
undisputed boundary.
10. Power of survey officer to determine and record a
disputed boundary.
11. Appeals against orders under section 9 or 10.
12. Period within which appeal should be preferred.
13. Completion of demarcation to be notified.
2 [Act No. VIII of 1923]
14. Institution of a suit in civil court within three years to
establish rights claimed in respect of the boundary
of the property surveyed.
15. Registered holders responsible for the maintenance
of survey marks.
16. Duties of village officers.
CHAPTER III.
THE SURVEY OF ESTATES.
17. State Government may direct the survey of an
estate in certain cases.
18. Procedure to be observed during survey.
19. Cost of survey recoverable from proprietor.
20. State Government may direct apportionment of
costs among lands surveyed.
21. Consequences ensuing on completion of survey of
an estate.
CHAPTER IV.
MISCELLANEOUS.
22. Power to enter upon, examine and clear
obstruction on lands.
23. Power to summon witnesses and require
production of documents.
24. Reference to arbitration.
25. Proprietor or registered holder may recover
expenses paid by him from the owner of the estate
or Government land and may acquire a charge
upon the land to that extent.
26. State Government may make rules under the Act.
27. Immunity for acts done in good faith or purporting
to be so done.
THE TELANGANA SURVEY AND BOUNDARIES ACT, 1923.1
ACT No. VIII OF 1923.
CHAPTER I.
PRELIMINARY.
1. (1) This Act may be called 2[the Telangana Survey and
Boundaries Act, 1923.]
(2) It extends to the whole of the State of 2[Telangana].
2. The Madras Survey and Boundaries Act, 1897 is
hereby repealed.
3. In this Act, unless there is something repugnant in the
subject or context,-
(i) „Estate‟ means,-
(a) any perma nently-settled estate whether a
Zamindari, jaghir, mitta or palaiyam;
(b) any portion of such permanently settled estate
which has been separately registered in the office of the
Collector;
(c) any unsettled palaiyam or jaghir;
1. The Andhra Pradesh Survey and Boundaries Act, 1923 in force in the
combined State, as on 02.06.2014, has been adapted to the State of
Telangana, under section 101 of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation
Act, 2014 (Central Act 6 of 2014) vide. the Telangana Adaptation of Laws
Order, 2016, issued in G.O.Ms.No.45, Law (F) Department, dated
01.06.2016.
2. Substituted by G.O.Ms.No.45, Law (F) Department, dated 01.06.2016.
Title.
Repeal.
Local extent.
Interpretation
clause.
Estate.
2 [Act No.VIII of 1923]
(d) any inam village of which the grant was made or
has been confirmed by the British Government;
(e) any portion, consisting of one or more villages of
any of the estates specified above in clauses (a), (b) and (c),
which is held on a permanent under-tenure;
(ii) „Government land ‟ means any land not forming a n
estate or any portion thereof;
(iii) „Prescribed‟ means prescribed by rules framed
under this Act;
(iv) „Proprietor‟ means any person in whose name any
estate is for the time being registered in the office of the
Collector of the district wherein the estate is situated, and, in
respect of an estate specified in clause (e) of sub -section (i),
the holder thereof;
(v) The „registered holder ‟ of any Government land
means the person in whose name the land in question is
registered in the Government accounts of the village:
Provided that when any person other than the
registered holde r is in lawful management of Government
land otherwise than as agen t or servant of the registered
holder or as mortgagee or lessee, such person shall be
deemed to be the registered holder in respect of such
Government land;
(vi) Where an estate or Government land is so
registered in the names of two or more persons jointly, t he
„proprietor‟ or „registered holder‟, as the case may be, shall,
for the purposes of this Act, be the person who is
recognized by the other joint holders as the manager of the
estate or who, in case of dispute, is recognized by the
Collector as senior joint holder;
Government land.
Prescribe.
Proprietor.
Registered holder.
Proprietor or
Registered holder
in case of joint
registration.
[Act No.VIII of 1923] 3
(vii) „Survey‟ includes all operations incidental to the
determination, measurement and recor d of a boundary or
boundaries, or any part of a bo undary and includes a re -
survey;
(viii) „Survey mark‟ means any mark or object erected,
made, employed or specified by a survey officer to indicate
or determine or assist in determining the position or level of
any point or points;
(ix) „Survey officer‟ means any person appointed to be
a survey officer under section 4.
4. (1) The 3[State Government] may by notificat ion
appoint any person either by name or by virtue of his office
to be a survey officer for all or any of the purposes of this
Act.
(2) Subject to the control of the 3[State Government]
and of any officer or authority appointed by it in this behalf
every person so appointed shall exercise and perform the
powers and duties of a survey officer within such local limits,
and for such periods of time as the 3[State Government]
may direct.
(3) The 3[State Government] may delegate its powers
under sub-sections (1) and (2) to such officer or authority as
it thinks fit.
3. The word s “State Government” were substituted throughout the Act
by the Adaptation of Laws Orders, 1937 and 1950.
Survey.
Survey mark.
Survey officer.
State Government
to appoint survey
officers.
State Government
to prescribe
jurisdiction of
survey officer.
State Government
may delegate
powers of control.
4 [Act No.VIII of 1923]
CHAPTER II.
THE SURVEY OF GOVERNMENT LANDS.
5. The 4[State Government] or, subject to the control of
the 4[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 formin g the common limit of
Government land and land that is not Government land.
6. (1) When any survey is ordered under section 5, the
survey officer shall publish a notification in the prescribed
manner inviting all persons having any interest in the land or
in the boundaries of which the survey has been ordered, to
attend either in person or by agent at a specified place and
time and from time to time thereafter when called upon for
the purpose of pointing out boundaries and supplying
information in connexion therewith.
(2) A notification published under sub -section (1) shall
be held to be a valid notice to every person having any
interest in the land or in the boundaries of which the survey
has been ordered.
5[7. 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 Gover nment 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 rupees twenty per acre on all lands in the
4. The words “State Government” were substituted by the Adaptation of
Laws Orders, 1937 and 1950.
5. Section 7 substituted by Act No.36 of 1995, along with the provisions
thereunder.
State Government
may direct the
survey of
Government land
or of any
boundary of such
land.
Notification to be
published by
survey officers.
Such notification
to be valid notice
to persons
interested.
Survey officer to
carry out the
survey or get the
survey carried out
in the manner
prescribed.
Levy of one time
cess for survey
etc.
[Act No.VIII of 1923] 5
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 sh all be in such manner as may be
prescribed.]
8. 6[(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.
6[(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 ta ken 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.
6. Section 8 was renumbered as sub -section (1) and sub -sections (2),
(3) and (4) were added, by the Andh ra Pradesh Survey and Boundaries
(Amendment) Act, 1952 (Act X of 1952).
Cost to be
charged to
persons
interested in the
lands surveyed.
6 [Act No.VIII of 1923]
Explanation:- The fact that notice under sub -section (1)
was not served personally on the appellant shall be deemed
to be good and suff icient cause within the meaning of the
above proviso.
(4) 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.]
9. (1) The survey officer shall have power to determine
and record as undisputed any boundary in respec t 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.
10. (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 of ficer 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.
11. (1) Any person affected by a decision under 7[section 9
or 10] may appeal to the prescribed officer. The decision of
7. Substituted for the words and figures “section 8, 9 or 10 ” by the
Andhra Pradesh Survey and Boundaries (Amendment) Act, 1952 (Act X
of 1952).
Power to survey
officer to
determine and
record an
undisputed
boundary.
Notice to
registered holders
of lands affected.
Power of survey
officer to
determine and
record a disputed
boundary.
Notice to parties
to the dispute and
to registered
holders of land
affected.
Appeals against
orders under
section 9 or 10.
[Act No.VIII of 1923] 7
the appellate authority with re asons therefor shall be
recorded in writing and notice of such decision shall be
given in the prescribed man ner to the parties to the appeal.
Any modification of the survey officer ‟s decision, ordered by
the appellate authority, shall be noted in the record
prepared under section 9 or 10 as the case may be.
(2) 8[A copy of the order and a copy of the map
recording the boundaries as determined under section 9, 10
or 11 (1) shall be furnished to any person interested in such
order or map] as the case may be on his application and at
his cost.
12. (a) An appeal under section 11 shall be preferred within
9[sixty days] months from the date of service of notice under
10[section 9 or 10,] provided that the time taken to obtain a
copy of the decision and of the map shall not be included in
the period of 9[sixty days] allowed for appeal.
(b) No appeal preferred after the expiry of the said
period shall be admitted 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 such
period.
Explanation:- The fact that notice under 10[section 9 or
10] was not served personally on the appellant shall be
deemed to be good and sufficient cause within the meaning
of the above proviso.
8. Substituted by the Andhra Pradesh Survey and Boundaries
(Validation) Act, 1924 (Act II of 1925) (deemed to have been in force
w.e.f.29.05.1923.)
9. Substituted by Act No.6 of 2007.
10. Substituted for the words and figures “section 8, 9 or 10 ” by the
Andhra Pradesh Survey and Boundaries (Amendment) Act,
1952 (Act X of 1952).
Period within
which appeal
should be
preferred.
Proviso.
8 [Act No.VIII of 1923]
(c) No appeal shall be admitted under sub -section (b)
after the issue of the notification specified in section 13.
13. 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:
11[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 district s 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.]
14. Any person deeming hi mself aggrieved by the
determination of any boundary under section 9, 10 or 11
may, subject to the provisions of Parts II and II I of the Indian
Limitation Act, 1908, institute a su it within three years from
the date of the notification under section 13 to set aside or
modify t he sa id determination a nd the survey shaII, i f
necessary, be altered in accordance with the final decree in
the suit and the alteration, if an y, shall be noted in the
record.
11. This proviso was added by the Andhra Pradesh Survey and
Boundaries (Extension and Amendment) Act, 1958 (Act XXII of 1958).
Completion of
demarcation to be
notified.
Central Act 37 of 1956.
Institution of a suit
in civil court within
three years to
establish rights
claimed in respect
of the boundary of
the property
surveyed.
[Act No.VIII of 1923] 9
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.
15. (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 12[State Government], mai ntain, 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 a ll operations incidental
to such renewal or repair but not any charges on account of
survey officers and supervising establishment.
(2) Before a survey of ficer 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 h as 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 re gistered holder, a copy of the same
shall be served also on the cultivator or other person
interested in the land.
16. It shall be the duty of every village he adman and of
every village accountant,-
12. The words “State Government” were substituted by t he Adaptation
of Laws Orders, 1937 and 1950.
Registered
holders
responsible for
the maintenance
of survey marks.
Notice to the
registered holder.
Notice to
cultivator or other
person interested.
Duties of village
officers.
10 [Act No.VIII of 1923]
(a) to prevent the destruction, injury, removal or
alteration of any su rvey ma rk 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.
CHAPTER III.
THE SURVEY OF ESTATES.
17. The 13[State Government], or subject to the control of
the 13[State Governme nt], any officer or authority to whom
this power may be delegated by it, may by notification direct
the survey of any estate or portion of an estate or of any
boundary therein,-
(a) on the application in writing of the proprietor of
such estate or, in the case of boundary, of any person
interested therein; or
(b) without such application whenever in the opinion of
the 13[State Government] such survey is necessary,-
(i) for the better or more convenient assessment or
levy of irrigation cess;
(ii) for any other reason to be recorded prior to the
issue of such notification:
Provided (1) that any person making an application
under clause (a) shall forward with his application a
statement in writing signed by hi m to the effect that he will
pay the whole cost of the survey and if required will deposit
13. The words “State Government ” were substituted by the Adaptation
of Laws Orders, 1937 and 1950.
State Government
may direct the
survey of an
estate in certain
cases.
[Act No.VIII of 1923] 11
the am ount in a Government treasury before the survey is
commenced and (2) that any survey commenced under that
clause may be stopped on the withdrawal of his application
by the applicant unless the 14[State Government] sees
reason to direct the continuance of the survey in virtue of the
power conferred on it by clause (b).
18. Except as provided in sections 19 and 20, the conduct
of such survey and the proceedings of the survey officer
shall, as far as may be, be reg ulated by the procedure laid
down in Chapter II with regard to the survey of Government
lands; and the provisions contained in that chapter in regard
to appeals from the orders of survey officer, the granting of
copies thereof and the effect of such orders , and of the
decisions passed in appeals therefrom and in regard to the
right of suit in respect of such orders and decisions shall, as
far as may be, apply to all orders passed by a survey officer
under this chapter and to the decisions passed in appeals
against such orders.
19. All costs incurred by the 14[State Government] on
account of a survey directed under clause (a) of section 17
shall be recoverable from the persons who have any interest
in the estate, portion of estate, or boundary of which the
survey has been ordered as an arrear of land revenue; t he
cost of a survey directed under clause (b) (i) and (ii) of
section 17 shall be borne by the 14[State Government]
unless otherwise provided by any law for the time being in
force.
20. (1) On the applicat ion of the proprietor of an estate in
which any survey has been made, the 14[State Government]
or any officer, or authority to whom this power may be
delegated by it, may direct the survey officer to apportion
14. The words “State Government” were substituted by the Adaptation
of Laws Orders, 1937 and 1950.
Procedure to be
observed during
survey.
Cost of survey
recoverable from
proprietor.
State Government
may direct
apportionment of
costs among
lands surveyed.
12 [Act No.VIII of 1923]
among the holders of the lands or persons interested in the
boundaries which have been surveyed the whole or a
specified portion of the cost of such survey; provided that
no tenant under a proprietor shall be called upon to pay a
larger sum on account of such survey than he would be
liable to pay if he held his land directly under th e
Government.
(2) The apportionment under sub -section (1) shall be
made in the prescribed manner.
(3) The amount apportioned under this section when it
is due by the tenants of a proprietor shall be recoverable as
if it were an arrear of rent due by a tenant to his landholder.
(4) For the purpose of this section and section 21, the
expression „tenant‟ shall include the ho lder of a rent -free
grant.
21. When an estate or a portion of an estate or a boundary
in an estate has been surveyed in pursuance of a
notification issued under section 17, the survey officer shall
report the completion of the survey to the District Collector
and to the proprietor, and the following cons equences shall
thereupon ensue:-
(i) Subject to such condition s as may be prescribed in
this behalf, every tenant of the land surveyed, and where
there is no tenant, the proprietor, 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
Collector may, after giving notice to the tenant or proprietor
as the case may be in the manner provided in sub -sections
(2) and (3) of section 15, at the cost of the 15[State
15. The words “State Government ” were substituted by the Adaptation
of Laws Orders, 1937 and 1950.
Apportionment
how made.
Cost so
apportioned
recoverable by
proprietor from
tenants.
Consequences
ensuing on
completion of
survey of an
estate.
Duty of tenants.
[Act No.VIII of 1923] 13
Government], maintain, renew and repair such survey marks
and recover the cost of so doing 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.
(ii) It sh all be the duty of the headman and of the
accountant of every village the whole or a part of which has
been surveyed,-
(a) to prevent the destruct ion, injury, removal or
alteration of any survey mark on or within the limits of his
village; and
(b) when he becomes aware that any such mark has
been destroyed, injured, removed or altered, to report the
fact to the proprietor of the estate and to the Collector or to
such officer subordinate to the Collector as the District
Collector may, from time to time, direct.
CHAPTER IV.
MISCELLANEOUS.
22. For the purposes of any survey, inquiry or other
proceedings under this Act, the surv ey officer or the District
Collector or any of the subord inates of such off icers shall
have power to enter upon, examine and measure any land
under survey and to clear by cutting down or removing any
trees, jungle, fences, standing crops or other material
obstructions, the bou ndaries or other lines the clearance of
which may be necessary for the purposes of the survey.
23. Any survey officer, generally or specially authorized in
that behalf, or the District Collector or any officer to whom
an appeal is preferred under any of the provisions of this Act
may, for the purpose of rendering assistance in the survey
of any land, su mmon and enforce the attendance of any
Duties of village
officer.
Power to enter
upon, examine
and clear
obstruction on
lands.
Power to summon
witnesses and
require production
of documents.
14 [Act No.VIII of 1923]
person who has an interest therein and may for the
purposes of any survey, inquiry or other proceedings under
this Act, summon and enforce the attendance of any person
for giving evidence and for the produc tion of doc uments;
and the procedure prescribed in the Code of Civil Procedure
for summoning and enforcing the attendance of witnesses
and for the recording of evidence shall be followed as far as
it can be made applicable.
24. (1) The D istrict Collector or the survey officer may with
the consent of all the parties concerned, refer to arbitration
any dispute as to a boundary.
(2) The decision of the District Collector or the survey
officer passed in accordance with such award shall be
conclusive between the parties to such arbitration and those
claiming under them.
25. (i) In the absence of a contract to the contrary, a
proprietor or registered holder of any estate or Government
land under survey, who incurs any expenses or from whom
any expenses are recovered under this Act in respect of
such survey, shall, if he be no t the owner thereof, acquire a
charge on such estate or Government land to the extent of
the expenses so incurred or recovered from him with
interest thereon at the rate of 9 per cent per annum.
(ii) It shall be lawful for any person claiming an interest
in an estate or Government land under survey to pay the
charges payable under this Act in respect of the survey of
such estate or Government l and, though he be not the
proprietor or registered holder thereof; and all such sums, if
paid by a tenant or lessee, may be deducted from any rent
then or afterwards due by him in respect of such estate or
Government land and if paid by any ot her person interested
or bonafide claiming an interest in the estate or Government
Reference to
arbitration.
Proprietor or
registered holder
may recover
expenses paid by
him from the
owner of the
estate or
Government land
and may acquire
a charge upon the
land to that extent.
Person claiming
an interest may
pay charges
payable by
proprietor or
registered holder
and acquire a
charge.
[Act No.VIII of 1923] 15
land, shall be a charge upon such estate or Government
land. Such sums shall bear interest at 9 per cent per annum.
(iii) Where a person entitled under this section to a
charge on an estate or Government land is a co -owner of
such estate or Government land, such charge shall extend
only to so much of the amount recovered from or expended
or paid by him as is due in respect of the share of the other
co-owners in such estate or Government land with interest
at the rate aforesaid.
26. (1) The 16[State Government] may, after previous
publication, make rules to carry out the purposes of the Act.
(2) In par ticular and without prejudice to the generality
of the foregoing power such rules may,-
(a) prescribe for different localities the unit of survey,
the subdivisions thereof and the description of the survey
marks; and provide for the maintenance, renewal and rep air
of such marks;
(b) provide for the collection and record of any
information in respect of any land which has been or is
about to be surveyed;
(c) define the classes of officers to be appointed to
do duty under this Act and the powers to be exercised by
such officers;
(d) prescribe and regulate the procedure to be
followed by those officers in the conduct of proceedings
under this Act;
16. The words “State Government” were substituted by the Adaptation
of Laws Orders, 1937 and 1950.
State Government
may make rules
under the Act.
Extent of such
charges.
16 [Act No.VIII of 1923]
(e) provide for the publication of all notifications
issued under this Act and for the form, issue and servic e of
all orders, communications and notices to be issued,
communicated, given or served under this Act;
(f) regulate the furnishing of survey marks, labour and
other matters necessary to surveys notified under this Act
and the recovery of charges incidental thereto where they
are recoverable;
(g) provide for the apportionment of all charges
directed to be apportioned by this Act and for the
determination of the cost of labour employed and of the
survey marks used in any such survey;
(h) presc ribe the fees payable for processes issued
and copies granted under this Act; and
(i) prescribe the manner in which arbitrators are to be
appointed and regulate the procedure to be followed by
them.
(3) All such rules shall be laid b efore the Telangan a
Legislature for a period of not less than two months while
that Legislature is in session.
27. No suit or other legal proceedings shall lie against any
person for any thing in good faith done or purporting to be
done under this Act.
* * *
Immunity for acts
done in good faith
or purporting to
be so done.