RABINARAYAN JENA, OP
Bhubaneswar: Thousands of land and revenue-related cases remain pending at tehsil offices across the state, raising concerns over delays in the delivery of essential services to citizens. Although the Revenue department has introduced several reforms, including a WhatsApp chatbot across all 317 tehsils, official data indicates that a large number of cases continue to await disposal. As many as 36,699 applications for land use conversion are pending across different tehsils.
Of these, more than 5,600 cases have crossed the deadline prescribed under the Odisha Right to Public Services Act (ORTPSA), but are yet to be taken up by tehsildars. Bhubaneswar tehsil has the highest number of pending land conversion applications at 1,240, including around 300 cases that have exceeded the stipulated ORTPS timeline. The tehsil also has the highest number of pending revenue cases across various categories, with 7,159 cases awaiting disposal. It is followed by Baleshwar with 5,823 cases, Kanisi in Ganjam with 3,250, Kataka with 2,887 and Jaleswar with 2,634 cases. The figures indicate that the problem extends beyond land conversion. More than 24,000 undisputed cases are pending across tehsils in the state, while around 70,000 disputed cases remain unresolved.
In addition, more than 22,900 cases under Section 19(1-C) of the Odisha Land Reforms Act are pending disposal. The data has raised questions over the effectiveness of measures introduced to make revenue services more accessible and citizen-friendly, with delays continuing at the grassroots level.
