Bhubaneswar: Revenue and Disaster Management (R&DM) Minister Suresh Pujari said Monday that the Odisha government will issue letters to other states in a phased manner, seeking comprehensive details of land properties belonging to Lord Jagannath located there, and undertake necessary measures for their restoration.
Chairing a high-level meeting here, the minister reviewed the progress of various reform-oriented initiatives related to land and land records, with emphasis on providing transparent, speedy and hassle-free revenue services to people in the state. As per decisions taken at the meeting, arrangements will be made to scan and digitise old records of almost all Bhoodan lands in the state and integrate them with Bhulekh through the ‘Bhoodan-LRMS Portal’.
Restrictions will be imposed on the illegal transfer and mutation of Bhoodan land until digitisation of the records is completed. Strict investigations will be conducted into fraudulent transactions involving Bhoodan land, and illegal encroachments will be removed. According to information shared at the meeting, protection of the land properties of Lord Jagannath has been accorded high priority. As part of the initial phase, a total of 31,906.52 acres of land, including 20,507.36 acres in Khordha district, has been recorded in the name of the Lord across 17 districts of the state.
In accordance with the directions of the Orissa High Court, stringent measures are being taken to remove encroachments from Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) land, particularly along national and state highways, as well as to expedite the resolution of revenue cases, an official said. Pujari emphasised the need to protect and restore all land properties of Lord Jagannath located in various districts of Odisha and other states.
“Letters will be issued to other states in a phased manner to collect comprehensive details of the land properties of Mahaprabhu Shri Jagannath located there. The state government will undertake necessary measures for their restoration,” Pujari said. “Steps will also be taken for the complete registration of such properties in favour of Shri Jagannath Mahaprabhu Bije Puri through SJTA,” he said.
Similarly, of a total of 52,056 educational institutions in the state, comprising degree colleges, high schools and primary schools, correction of land records (RoRs) has already been completed for 27,556 institutions. Instructions have been issued to ensure that all educational institutions located on lease-eligible land are provided with complete RoRs by December 31, 2026.