Services / Register 04
Claim land acquisition compensation that was never paid
Awards that sit undrawn with the Collector, the Authority or the court, and how to draw them
Awards go undrawn for years. The money does not return to the acquiring body; it sits with the Collector, the Authority or the court until somebody with a proved entitlement comes forward.
How the asset gets here
Under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, compensation that cannot be paid (because the entitled person refuses it, cannot be found, or because there is a dispute as to title or apportionment) is deposited rather than retained.
Older acquisitions remain governed by the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 in respects preserved by the 2013 Act, and the applicable regime depends on the date and stage of the acquisition.
Undrawn awards surface in state audit reports and in the records of the acquiring offices themselves. Our work in Odisha begins from that public record and moves to the office holding the deposit.
What recovery involves
We identify the award, the acquiring body and the office holding the deposit, using audit findings, gazette notifications and information sought under the Right to Information Act, 2005.
We establish the claimant’s title to the acquired land, including through the revenue record and the chain of succession where the recorded tenant has died.
We prepare and pursue the application to draw the compensation, including interest where it is payable.
Where the deposit was made because of a dispute as to apportionment, the matter is referred to an advocate before anything is filed.
What we need from you
- Record-of-rights entry or patta for the acquired plot
- Award reference or acquisition notification, where known
- Identity and address evidence of the claimant
- Succession evidence where the recorded tenant has died
- Any correspondence received from the acquiring body
No charge for the initial assessment, and no fee unless a recovery is made. Regulatory position reviewed 9 September 2026; we confirm the rules applicable to your matter at the time of filing.
Open a new entry
Ask us to look.
Tell us what you were told, or what you suspect. We will check the registers and reply with whether there is an entry worth pursuing. There is no charge to ask.