Puri: The Odisha Human Rights Commission (OHRC) has directed the state government to provide a compensation of Rs 1 lakh each to 14 families of Yadav (milkman) community of Budhakera under Brahmagiri police limits.
The families have been driven out from a grazing land by some anti-socials. The rights body has asked the state government to compensate the aggrieved families by April 6.
The families were earning a livelihood by setting up temporary cowsheds on the pasture land at Bhudakera. Some land mafia in cahoots with a few anti-socials had forcibly removed the 14 families from the grazing land.
Human rights activist Baghambar Patnaik had filed a petition in the OHRC urging it to take necessary steps to safeguard the livelihoods of the Yadav families. Patnaik had also made the district administration a party to the case.
Acting upon a notice, Puri Collector Balwant Singh had filed a review petition with the OHRC.
The rights body, however, rejected the review petition and directed the state government to compensate the aggrieved families.