Bhubaneswar: In a landmark ruling, the Orissa High Court Wednesday directed the shop owners of Ashoka Market to vacate the premises and hand over the ownership of their establishments to the authorities by January 31, 2018.
The judgement has paved way for development of Bhubaneswar Town Centre under the Smart City project, in which the city railway station and its adjoining area of 12 acres will be developed as a world-class infrastructure with facilities including a multi-modal transport hub. Renowned design consultant Jurong from Singapore will design the hub. The Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) Wednesday presented an action-taken report before the court in compliance with the court’s directive of December 8, 2017.
According to the report, 19 grievances were received from the shop owners and they were heard in person by BDA vice chairman on four different dates during last month. Based on the hearing by BDA, it was decided to resolve specific grievances submitted by five shop owners for facilitating of shifting to allotted shops at alternate locations.
Similarly, a decision was taken to give permission for change of allotment for two shop owners who wanted to take a particular shop other than the one allotted to them.
It has also been decided to consider change of allotment through a process of lottery, subject to availability, for 11 shop owners, who wished to change their allotted shops and had given their preference for BDA shops in other areas.
PNN