The Krishnagiri District Revenue Officer will hear and adjudicate Thoti Inam land claims on Thursday (June 11, 2026). The hearing is an outcome of a Writ petition filed by the legal heirs of Thoti Inam lands at Avathuvadi village in Mottur panchayat here. There will also be hearings on claims of Thotti Inam land from Nallur panchayat and Lakshmipuram panchayat in Hosur and Krishnagiri, respecitviely.Thotti Inam lands are granted by the colonial government for Adi Dravidars for the caste-determined services rendered in the village. Armed with the original document dating 1910, granted by the Governor in the Council of Madras, the legal heirs of the grantees are approaching the Revenue authorities seeking restoration of their land title.The inalienable nature of those land grants not withstanding, hundreds of acres of such lands are found encroached upon and the title claims by the rightful legal heirs are being denied by the revenue administration, alleged S. Karuppiah, State president of the Madurai-based Dalit Liberation Movement. Based on his representation, the National Commission for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes directed the district administration to act on the plea for the restoration of such lands.“Close to 1,000 acres of the lands, that are not panchami lands, are under encroachments by design with the connivance of the revenue officials,” alleged Mr. Karuppiah.In 2005, a circular was issued by Kannaki Pacianathan, the then director of National Commission for Scheduled Castes, directing Jamabandi officials to make field visits to identify such encroachments on Thoti Inam lands, and take action to restore them to the legal heirs. However, the circular has been ignored by all district Collectors, said Mr. Karuppiah.The movement also questioned the earlier dismissal of claims on the grounds that such Inams were abolished under the Tamil Nadu Minor Inams Act, transferring the rights back to the government. “However, that does not apply to Thoti Inam lands, as there is a provision to restore the lands back to the Adi Dravidars by the government,” added Mr. Karuppiah.According to the organisation, most of the Thoti inam lands that were encroached and the records mutated during the UDR (Updating Registry), a scheme to update revenue records based on simple claims of ownership by encroachers. Published - June 10, 2026 08:40 pm IST