Bhubaneswar: A high-level review meeting was held under the chairmanship of the Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari to review the implementation of various major schemes and citizen-centric services of the Department.
The meeting undertook a detailed review of the progress of various important reform-oriented initiatives related to land and land records, with emphasis on providing transparent, speedy and hassle-free revenue services to the people of the State.
As per the decisions taken at the meeting, arrangements will be made for scanning and digitisation of the old records of almost all Bhoodan lands in the State and their integration with Bhulekh through the ‘Bhoodan-LRMS Portal’.
Restrictions will be imposed on illegal transfer and mutation of Bhoodan land until the digitisation of the records is completed. Strong investigations will be undertaken into fraudulent transactions relating to Bhoodan land & illegal encroachments will be removed. Giving priority to the noble objective envisioned by Acharya Vinoba Bhave, Bhoodan land will be allotted only in favour of genuine homesteadless persons.
According to the information shared in the meeting, protection of the land properties of Mahaprabhu Shri Jagannath has been accorded high priority. As part of the initial phase, a total of 31,906.52 acres of land, including 20,507.36 acres in Khordha district, has been recorded in the name of Mahaprabhu Shri Jagannath across 17 districts of the State. In accordance with the directions of the Hon’ble High Court, stringent measures are being taken for the removal of illegal encroachments from SJTA land, particularly along national and State highways, as well as for expediting the resolution of revenue cases.
In this context, the meeting discussed measures for taking up the protection and restoration of the land properties of Mahaprabhu Shri Jagannath located in various districts of Odisha as well as in other States on a priority basis. It was decided that letters would be issued to other States in a phased manner to collect comprehensive details of the properties of Mahaprabhu Shri Jagannath located there and undertake necessary measures for their restoration. Steps will also be taken for complete registration of such properties in favour of Shri Jagannath Mahaprabhu Bije Puri, through Shri Jagannath Temple Administration.
It was further informed that under the Vasundhara Scheme, surveys have been conducted and 34,251 eligible landless families have been allotted homestead land during the last two years. The Hon’ble Revenue Minister stressed the need to accord priority to eligible beneficiaries and ensure systematic resolution of various issues for effective implementation of the scheme.
Similarly, out of a total of 52,056 educational institutions in the State, comprising degree Colleges, High schools & Primary schools, correction of land records (RoRs) has already been completed in respect of 27,556 institutions. Instructions have been issued to ensure that all educational institutions located on lease-eligible land are provided with complete RoRs by December 31, 2026.
Dr. Arabinda Kumar Padhee, the Additional Chief Secretary to Government, Revenue and Disaster Management Department, the Secretary, Board of Revenue, and senior officers of the Department were present at the meeting.
