The Odisha Legislative Assembly on Tuesday passed the demand for grants of Rs 2,271 crore 33.48 lakh for the Revenue and Disaster Management Department for the financial year 2026-27.
Opposition parties BJD and Congress largely boycotted the discussion. Only suspended Congress MLA Sofia Firdous took part in the debate.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Mukesh Mahaling replied on behalf of Revenue Minister Suresh Pujari. He strongly criticised the previous BJD government for ignoring the problems of the poor and highlighted the sweeping changes introduced in the revenue department since the new government assumed office.
The government has scored a major success by amending land records that had troubled people for decades. Land categories have been drastically reduced from over 7,000 to just 22. Reforms to outdated British-era laws have been brought in to deliver good governance directly to the people.
Key initiatives include 100% digitisation of land records and their integration with all sub-registrar offices. The new ‘Naksha’ scheme to create accurate and modern land records in urban areas is now operational in four municipalities — Khordha, Jatni, Baripada and Jharsuguda.
Chief Minister launched the ‘e-Registration Odisha’ mobile app for digital governance. So far, 60,871 registrations have been completed through the app, offering online slot booking, Encumbrance Certificates (EC) and certified copies of documents in a transparent and hassle-free manner.
Under the ‘Swamitva’ scheme in rural areas, 3,596 people have received valid land records. The government has notified 946 new revenue villages — compared to only 1,075 villages notified in the 32 years between 1992 and 2023.
Work has begun to remove the names of deceased persons from land pattas and replace them with living heirs. Out of 51,01,905 khatas surveyed, 46,96,371 have been fully amended.
The Odisha Survey and Settlement (Amendment) Rules, 2025, now empower Tehsildars and Additional Tehsildars to amend land records on the basis of pre-settlement registered sale deeds. This historic reform is expected to resolve lakhs of long-pending land cases quickly and easily.
In disaster management, 27 multipurpose cyclone shelters have been constructed. Installation of 434 automatic weather stations and 6,624 automatic rain gauges is underway. Unseasonal rainfall has been recognised as a natural disaster eligible for SDRF assistance.
Information technology is being extensively used for land acquisition and management of government land. A new rehabilitation scheme with ₹90 crore provision has been launched for the Nolia family in Golabandha, Ganjam district.
Several BJP MLAs, including Irasis Acharya, Manoranjan Dyan Samantara, Purna Chandra Sethi, Bijay Dalbehera, Prakash Sethi, Bhadab Hansda, Bibhuti Bhushan Pradhan, Raghunath Jagdala and Pratap Chandra Nayak, participated in the discussion and praised the government’s people-friendly schemes.
The demand was passed after the minister’s reply.
