Rs 597.87 cr govt land under encroachment

RABINARAYAN JENA, OP

Bhubaneswar: Lack of effective action by tehsildars has left 668.893 acres of government land across the state, valued at Rs 597.87 crore, under encroachment, according to a recently released report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India. According to the CAG, unauthorised occupation has prevented the government from ensuring the intended use of its land.

Under the Odisha Survey and Settlement Act, 1958, the Record of Rights (RoR) classifies land as agricultural, residential, commercial, industrial, community and pasture land, among other categories. Section 7 of the Odisha Prevention of Land Encroachment (OPLE) Act, 1958, empowers tehsildars to remove unauthorised occupation of government land. The audit found that the Revenue and Disaster Management Department had not issued a notification for the creation of village-level land banks until March 2025.

As a result, productive use of vacant, fallow, neglected, unused and acquired government land, as well as unassessed tax properties, could not be ensured. The department has formulated a special policy to remove encroachments and restore the land to government records. However, effective measures had not been taken by tehsildars to prevent unauthorised occupation of government land or conduct eviction drives. “Consequently, 668.893 acres of government land, valued at Rs 597.87 crore, remained under encroachment,” it said. According to the CAG review, 144.347 acres of land earmarked for grazing livestock were under unauthorised occupation.

Similarly, 179.802 acres of forest-classified land, 22.209 acres classified as water bodies, rivers and streams, 10.243 acres classified as roads, and 312.292 acres in other categories were under encroachment. The audit also found encroachment on land belonging to the Shree Jagannath Temple, where fish farming was being carried out. In Puri tehsil, 30 hotels, restaurants and lodges had been constructed on 5.43 acres of government land. In Gop and Puri tehsils, 97.83 acres of government, deity and Shree Jagannath Temple land had been occupied for fish farming at two locations.

In addition, 28 commercial establishments had come up on government land in Gop, while commercial centres had been established on government land in Bhubaneswar. The CAG also pointed out that encroachers had occupied some land falling within the eco-sensitive zones of wildlife sanctuaries.