Cuttack: A public interest litigation (PIL) was filed in the Orissa High Court, here Thursday, alleging encroachment of Utkal University’s (UU) 40 acres of land by the mafia.
Petitioner Achyutananda Swain has urged the HC to direct the authorities to evict the encroachers from the land and order an impartial CBI probe.
Secretaries of Law department, Revenue and Disaster Management, and Higher Education, Central RDC, vice chancellor and registrar of Utkal University, tehsildars of Khurda and Bhubaneswar, BDA chairperson, BMC commissioner and commissioner of police are parties to the case.
The petitioner has stated that of the varsity’s 399 acres of land, 40 acres has been encroached by some influential persons, but no steps have been taken so far to reclaim the land.
In his petition, Swain also cited that Higher Education minister had also informed the state assembly about the encroachment of varsity’s land.
Swain has alleged that some unscrupulous employees of BDA, BMC, Revenue department and Utkal University had allowed the encroachment. This apart, some premier institutions in the capital city have also illegally acquired lands at various places, the petition further stated.
The petitioner has urged the HC to order a CBI probe in this regard, which could uncover the truth and bring the accused persons under the purview of investigation.
