Malkangiri: In an unusual form of protest, landowners affected by a railway project in Mundaguda village under Mathili tehsil of Malkangiri district on Monday dressed in ghostly attire to highlight alleged irregularities in land acquisition records that declared them dead, depriving them of compensation.
Three affected persons—Subhadra Naik, Uddhab Naik and Damuni Naik—along with social activist Sarat Chandra Buruda and their family members staged a sit-in outside the Mathili Tehsil office, alleging that errors in official records had excluded them from receiving compensation for land acquired for the railway project.
The protest ended after the Mathili Tehsildar and other officials reached the site and assured the demonstrators that the matter would be taken up before the Sub-Collector’s court on Wednesday. The officials also acknowledged that errors had occurred and promised corrective action, following which the protesters withdrew their agitation.
According to the affected families, although they are alive, government records wrongly declared them dead during the preparation of the list of legal heirs for compensation. They alleged that despite repeatedly approaching authorities from the tehsil office to the Sub-Collector’s office, no corrective action was taken.
Subhadra Naik had initially submitted a complaint before the Competent Authority for Land Acquisition (CALA) and later approached the district administration on multiple occasions. After failing to obtain relief, she sought assistance from social activist Sarat Chandra Buruda.
The protesters further alleged that a CALA official had stated that as a married daughter, Subhadra Naik was not entitled to a share in her father’s property. They contended that the stand was contrary to Indian law, under which married daughters enjoy equal rights in ancestral property.
Buruda described the incident as more than an administrative lapse, alleging that declaring a living person dead in official records and denying compensation amounted to a serious violation of constitutional rights. He also claimed that while preparing the list of beneficiaries, officials wrongly recorded Subhadra Naik as deceased and similarly excluded Uddhab Naik and Damuni Naik by declaring them dead, resulting in denial of compensation payable under the project.
Demanding an impartial and high-level inquiry, Buruda sought strict action against officials responsible for the alleged irregularities in the land acquisition and compensation process.
