Taking a strict stance on the protection of state-owned real estate, the Member of the Board of Revenue, Satyabrata Sahu, has issued a landmark ruling rejecting the private mutation of prime government land valued at over Rs 100 crore.
The decision comes alongside an order directing the Revenue and Disaster Management Department to conduct a comprehensive probe into how the land was leased to an officer, subsequently resold, and missing from official archives.
The Disputed Property and Missing Records
The controversy centers around a lucrative 4.24-acre parcel of land in Ogalapada Mouza under Jatani Tahasil in Khordha district, positioned adjacent to the high-density Bhubaneswar-Khordha National Highway. While current revenue records list the state government as the primary owner, ownership transfers and subsequent resales have raised serious legal questions.
During the revision hearing, it was revealed that the original lease file for the property is missing from the Jatani Tahasil office. The absence of these core documents has intensified suspicions regarding the legitimacy of the initial allocation and subsequent transactions.
Questionable 1968 Allocation to OAS Officer
Case records show that in 1968, the government plot was leased for agricultural purposes under the Odisha Government Land Settlement (OGLS) Act, 1962, to an Odisha Administrative Service (OAS) officer who was deployed on settlement duty at the time. The land was later sold to private individuals.
Under the OGLS Act, 1962, and OGLS Rules, 1963, government land allocation follows strict eligibility and priority criteria. Priority is statutorily reserved for landless agricultural laborers, cooperatives, ex-servicemen, and marginal ryots. The Board of Revenue questioned how a serving administrative officer qualified for the lease, whether official power was abused, and if standard regulatory procedures were ignored.
Map Discrepancies and Blocked Mutation
Field verification reports and historical maps also highlighted major discrepancies in the physical area of the land compared to document entries. Furthermore, the ownership claims made in private sale deeds directly contradict the statutory history of the government lease.
Refusing to validate these discrepancies, the Board of Revenue firmly rejected the current buyer’s application to record the land in their personal name. The Board issued strict orders prohibiting any alterations to existing revenue records based on disputed deeds or pending mutation applications.
Widespread Encroachment and Departmental Inquiry
A status report submitted by the Jatni Tahasildar uncovered a broader issue in the region, revealing that over 20 acres of government land in Ogalapada Mouza remain under illegal encroachment.
To address systemic abuse, Member Satyabrata Sahu ordered all available papers—including original maps, mutation files, sale deeds, and field reports—to be transferred to the Revenue and Disaster Management Department for a deep-dive investigation. The inquiry will focus on:
- The legal basis and eligibility under which the 1968 lease was issued.
- The role played by officials involved in the original settlement.
- The cause behind the disappearance of foundational files from the Tahasil office.
- Discrepancies between physical field measurements and map records.
- The illegal chain of transfer and financial loss caused to the state exchequer.
This ruling aligns with the ongoing priorities of Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari, who has repeatedly stressed anti-encroachment drives and the recovery of stolen state property.
The order serves as a major precedent for field-level revenue officers to ensure integrity and strict legal compliance in land administration across Odisha.
