Odisha govt directs revenue officers to fast-track Jagannath Temple land cases
Bhubaneswar, July 14 (IANS) The Odisha Government has accorded top priority to the protection, preservation and effective management of the landed properties of Lord Shree Jagannatha Mahaprabhu, directing revenue authorities across the state to expedite the disposal of revenue cases relating to the deity’s properties and other allied matters.
Additional Chief Secretary, Revenue & Disaster Management Department, Arabinda Kumar Padhee, on Monday wrote to the Board of Revenue, all Revenue Divisional Commissioners (RDCs), District Collectors and the Director of Land Records & Survey (DLRS), directing them to take immediate and time-bound action on all matters relating to the temple’s land.
The revenue department stated that it had been brought to the notice of the government that several issues relating to the recording, protection and management of the lands belonging to Lord Shree Jagannatha Mahaprabhu, Bije Puri, require urgent attention, and that it was considered imperative that the district administration intervene promptly to safeguard the properties of Mahaprabhu Shree Jagannatha and ensure their proper protection in accordance with law.
He directed all revenue officers to act strictly in accordance with the law, government instructions and court orders communicated by the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA).
The Revenue Department has asked officials to expedite the disposal of 11,675 miscellaneous revenue cases filed by the SJTA before various Tahasils in Khordha, Puri, Jagatsinghpur, Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Ganjam, Cuttack and Kendrapara districts, in compliance with the directions of the Board of Revenue, Odisha, Kataka, communicated vide Letter No. 1958 dated October 27, 2022.
The Department has also directed immediate implementation of the Board of Revenue’s orders in 257 cases filed under Section 7(A) of the Odisha Estates Abolition Act, copies of which have already been communicated to the respective Tahasildars.
Officials have also been directed to examine historical Records of Rights, particularly the 1927-28 RoR, for correction of Khewat entries wherever warranted, keeping in view that the vesting notification dated March 18, 1974 under the Odisha Estates Abolition Act has been set aside by the Supreme Court.
To ensure accurate land records, officials have been instructed to examine historical Records of Rights (RoRs), including those of 1888-89, 1925-26, 1927-28, 1929-30 and 1977-78, wherever necessary, for correction of Khewat entries, wherever warranted, and proper recording of the temple’s endowment properties in accordance with law.
The instructions further mandate that authenticated copies of pre-settlement and settlement Records of Rights, along with settlement-to-current record correlation reports, be provided to the SJTA at the earliest to facilitate the effective disposal of cases before the Board of Revenue.
Revenue Inspectors, Amins, and other experienced field-level officials will be deployed to identify, verify, and protect Lord Jagannath’s lands. Regular field inspections have also been ordered to prevent illegal encroachment, unauthorised occupation, fraudulent claims and attempts to create private interests over temple properties.
The department directed that top priority be accorded to the above matters and that close supervision of the actions taken by the concerned revenue officers be ensured, adding that the progress of the above issues shall be reviewed regularly in the monthly district-, sub-divisional-, and tahasil-level revenue meetings, and a monthly progress report shall be furnished to the department.
The State Government has also instructed all district administrations to take proactive measures to ensure the protection, preservation and lawful management of Lord Shri Jagannath’s landed properties while minimising unnecessary litigation.
–IANS
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