I owned a plot measuring 5500 sq.ft. from 1990 to 2016. The plot was in a DTCP approved layout. I got a building plan sanction as well. Due to unavoidable circumstances, no construction was done and the plot was sold to the adjacent plot owner. When that person approached the municipality for a building plan, he was told that public lands were included in the area of the plot sold to him by me. Since the actual area of the plot as per the approved layout was not made known to us, I suspect the possibility of the inclusion of public land in the plot sold to me by the developer. We have an exclusive and continuous occupation without any interruption in this public land for more than 30 years. The concerned municipality has not taken any action so far to recover the extent of our land from the portion of public land. Under the circumstances, do we have any chance to perfect our title by filing a suit of adverse possession in the court under Limitation Act 1963?
V. Ramasubramanian, Chennai
It is not clear from your question whether you or your buyer have obtained Patta for the plot, which would clearly show the extent standing in your name/ your buyer’s name. If Patta has been issued to you/ your buyer for the extent mentioned in the document, you may not have difficulty in obtaining approvals from the sanctioning authority. In the event of a portion of land being found as belonging to government, it is possible to obtain usage rights by applying to the concerned authority for a B-Memo. In any case, putting up construction or acquiring any right under adverse possession over government land is not possible.
