Odisha decides to regularise encroachment of govt land worth ₹4,000 cr

The occupation of 1893 acres of government land by 1274 high schools, 51 government colleges and 644 aided colleges would be regularised

Updated on: Nov 24, 2021, 01:47:55 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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In a major sop to around 2,000 high schools and colleges, the Odisha cabinet on Tuesday decided to regularise encroachment of all such institutions on government lands worth ₹4,000 crore.

The Cabinet which met on Tuesday decided that the occupation of 1893 acres of government land by 1,274 high schools, 51 government colleges and 644 aided colleges would be regularised. The total value of the land would be ₹4,000 crore.

Due to the inability of such institutions to pay the dues like premium, incidental charges, annual ground rent, cess, encroachment fees with penalty, interest, the land could not be recorded in the name of institutions.

The Cabinet decided all land, irrespective of the extent of area, under the occupation of standalone government degree colleges (including autonomous and non-autonomous government colleges) and standalone government higher secondary schools will be recorded in the name of the higher education department and school and mass education department respectively.

In the case of aided degree colleges having autonomous status and non-autonomous aided degree colleges and aided higher secondary schools, land up to 10 acres in urban areas and 15 acres in rural areas would be recorded in the name of the higher education department and school and mass education department respectively.

The land to be settled with the educational institutions should be leasable, non-forest, not in DLC list, un-objectionable, free from encroachment by anyone other than the said educational institutions, free from any encumbrances and should not be having any mineral reserve.

On settlement of such land, all previous encroachment cases booked by revenue authorities would be dropped and a token amount of Re 1 per acre per year towards assessment and penalty at Rs10 per acre per year may be charged. Interest on the arrear amount would be waived out. The cut-off date for consideration of occupation of government land by an institution would be January 1, 2020.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

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