Rourkela: There is good news for the Rourkela Chamber of Commerce and Industries (RCCI) as an old land dispute concerning its current official building here has finally come to a logical settlement. Besides, the Revenue Department has waived off Rs 8.50 crore to the business body, which it demanded for the new plot. This has brought a sense of relief for the RCCI.
Reacting to the news, the incumbent president of this prestigious body Sunil Kayal said, “On behalf of the RCCI, I am extremely thankful to our state government for having shown such magnanimity while settling all our issues.” “The RCCI will definitely remember this for years to come. Also, the role of our local MLA and Labour Minister Sarada bhai cannot be forgotten. He helped us at all levels in settling this issue,” Kayal said. He was also thankful to the past presidents “as they also contributed during their tenures for working to resolve this issue.” The land dispute, which was bothering the RCCI, was finally settled by the state government as the high-level committee took the decision in favour of this business body.
In 1989 the RCCI applied to the land allotment committee (LAC) for land to set up its office building. Till that date, it was functioning in a rented house near Udit Nagar. The LAC allotted 50 decimals on the Civil Township Bypass Road from the land from ‘khata no 24’ of Town Unit 44, vide letter no. 483, dt 25/02.1992. The RCCI made the payment on an installment basis between 1993 and 2006. The problem came when the piece of land which was allotted to RCCI was given away from another ‘khata’. And RCCI has been functioning on that land for the last 30 years. This came to the fore when the first-floor construction started and the plan was sent to RDA for approval. The subsequent investigation also revealed the land issue. RCCI was charged with encroaching on valuable government land. It was found that land was not given to RCCI and it was another plot. Plot 24, on which the building presently exists, actually belonged to the government.
Soon the Revenue Department demanded an amount of Rs 8.50 crore from RCCI. While the RCCI appealed to the government to waive the amount it also pleaded that it had also paid the amount in different installments over a period of 13 years. “We appealed to the government that when we have already paid the land price, this piece of land should get regularised in RCCI’s favour,” said Kayal. And he further added, “It is our good luck and our sincere effort in convincing the government that finally paid up in our favour.”