Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, March 21: He has freed over 1,000 acres of government-owned land in the last one-and-a-half years, and has been at the forefront of high-profile eviction drives in the city. Despite that, the government in a move that is bound to stoke controversy has chosen to issue transfer orders to BDA’s enforcement officer Deba Prasad Dash.
This is the sixth transfer in four years for the OAS officer, who has now been given the post of deputy commissioner (recovery) in the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC).
Observers say the move smacks of political pressure as the officer has been transferred within one-and-a-half years of his deputation to BDA from the general administration department (GAD). According to guidelines, an OAS officer’s deputation to another department shall be for a minimum of three years and a maximum of six years.
Sources said Dash earned the ire of land sharks and political lobbyists after an illegally-built ashram in Khandagiri was razed under his supervision.
Over 25 major eviction drives have been carried out by BDA since 2013, sending shockwaves among land sharks usurping huge chunks of government land in Bhubaneswar.
Some of the major eviction drives include — demolition of a five-storied building at Ashok Nagar, partial razing of Amber market complex at Janpath, eviction of over 250 illegal makeshift houses at Kanya Ashram in Chandrasekharpur, Somu’s Cave Bar at Jaydev Vihar, demolition of two prominent temples at Rasulgarh Square, and slums in
Rasulgarh Industrial Estate to facilitate expansion of the national highway.
The officer earned a reputation of a tough officer because of his ruthlessness in bulldozing illegal multi-storied buildings in the last one year. Sources said demolition drives of this scale were unprecedented in the last ten years of BDA’s history.
Several OAS officers said they believed the honest officer was shunted only for discharging his duties.
