Other States - Orissa   

Government loses vast extent of land

BHUBANESWAR: Government land worth crores of rupees has slipped into the hands of influential individuals and private organisations in and around the Capital city, causing concern in the high echelons of power. Official correspondence and records clearly show that land-grabbers are getting lands transferred to their names by following fraudulent methods in gross violation of rules allegedly with the connivance of a few employees.

According to an estimation based on present market price, Rs. 100 crores worth public land has so far been acquired by private parties in some 10 villages or ‘mouzas’

The process appears to be quite simple. Private parties or organisations first occupy the land and then get the records changed in their favour by virtually paying no money to the government.

With the practice crossing all limits, top officials in the General Administration Department of the government have expressed serious concern over what they called plundering of government land.

“The unique point is that valuable government land of some 80 acres has been ordered in favour of private parties without giving an opportunity to state our position,” says G.V.V. Sharma, Secretary, Revenue Department, in a communication to the office of the State’s Advocate-General.

The land being referred to by Mr. Sharma is located in Shyampur mouza. Another letter from the department’s Special Secretary Nitin Chandra mentions about “missing” of case files in the Advocate-General’s office.

“This clearly resulted in failure to present the contentions of the government to the court leading to adverse orders,” it says.

Similarly, more than 40 acres of government land in Pathargadia mouza has been encroached by a leading private educational group.

Some 10 acres of the said extent is forestland.

The encroachers are now trying to obtain lease in respect of this land, says sources.

With land tuning into a hot property in the Capital city in the recent years, private builders, non-government organisations and individuals are leaving no stone unturned to take advantage of the loopholes in the Revenue Department rules.

However, there seems to be some light at the end of the tunnel. “It is a good sign that the General Administration Department has started taking note of the illegal activities of the land mafia,” says a senior official involved in the process of land settlement.

Things, however, will largely depend on how government lawyers point out the irregularities before the courts of law, he says, while underling the need for a thorough review of the transfer of government lands to private hands in the past five years.

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