Bhubaneswar: The decision to transfer the much-debated Ekamrakanan land in Bhubaneswar to the General Administration Department has been put on hold.
Also read: Vigilance sleuths raid houses of RD Asst Engineer in Angul
According to a letter from the Directorate of Horticulture written to the assistant director of Horticulture Tuesday evening, the department directed the assistant director who is in charge of Ekamrakanan to maintain the status quo of the land as it was before.
Such a development came in the backdrop of wide-spread protests by opposition parties. The political parties decried the state government’s decision to allegedly destroy forest areas for commercial exploitation.
Notably, the state government had earlier decided to transfer 20.192 acre of land from Ekamrakanan to the General Administration Department, except an area of 5.775 acre where there are existing buildings.
Major opposition parties in the state including the BJP and Congress had raised questions over the modus operandi of the government.
PNN