Bhubaneswar: More than 53,480 acres of Odisha government land remain encroached across various districts, Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari told the Assembly Thursday.
In response to a query by BJD legislator Arun Kumar Sahoo, the minister said, “In accordance with the Odisha Prevention of Land Encroachment (OPLE) Act, 1972, the removal of encroachments on government land is an ongoing process.”
Pujari added that the revenue and Disaster Management Department had issued instructions to the collectors of all 30 districts in July and September to remove encroachments on government land.
“According to data from different districts, out of 1,08,773 acres of encroached government land, 55,293 acres have been cleared,” Pujari said in his reply.
He, however, noted that 53,480 acres of government land are still under encroachment. To address this, the government is taking appropriate steps at the district level as per the provisions of the OPLE Act, 1972, and the Rules of 1985, he added.
In a letter issued to the collectors in July, Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) Satyabrata Sahu directed that a realistic survey of encroachments be conducted in both rural and urban areas.
Furthermore, the collectors were instructed to protect the cleared government land by constructing suitable fences and installing prominently displayed boards, utilising funds allocated for this purpose.
PTI