Post News Network
Cuttack, April 20: The district administration Monday took possession of 2.703acre disputed land occupied by Orissa Olympic Association (OOA) which it had brought back into government records March 10.
The district administration took possession of the land by hoisting red flags demarcating its boundary on all sides and pasting notices on the walls of the buildings therein in the presence of deputy collector R Raghuram Iyer and other officials. The land was allocated to the Orissa Cricket Academy’s building, playground, a four-storey building and an under construction six-storey building.
‘‘The collector ordered resumption of the 2.703 acre land. On the strength of the order, the land is being taken possession of by the collector. The land has a building and another under construction. After takeover, notice will be served on the occupants to vacate the premises within seven days. As you can see, notices are being pasted and announcements being made through public address system,’’ Iyer said.
Earlier, land measuring 2.703 acres occupied by the OOA was reverted back to the state government by incumbent tehsildar Abanikanta Patnaik by virtue of the 2003 order of the collector March 10, 2015. The state government had allotted 2.703 acres of land to the OOA in 1969 on a 90-year lease for promotion of sports in the state. It was mentioned in the lease deed that the land will be used for construction of an indoor stadium and dormitory for the athletes. However, the OOA, instead of fulfilling the terms laid down in the lease deed, used the land for other purposes.