Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has directed all Revenue Divisional Commissioners (RDCs), Collectors and senior revenue officials to accord the highest priority to the protection, management and restoration of landed properties belonging to Lord Shree Jagannatha Mahaprabhu, Bije Puri, including the expeditious disposal of 11,675 pending miscellaneous revenue cases instituted by the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA).
In a ‘Most Urgent’ communication issued on Monday, Additional Chief Secretary of the Revenue and Disaster Management Department, Dr Arabinda Kumar Padhee, asked the Secretary, Board of Revenue, all RDCs, Collectors and the Director of Land Records and Surveys to personally monitor the progress of cases and ensure prompt action in accordance with statutory provisions, government instructions and court orders.
The letter said the government has taken serious note of issues relating to the recording, protection and management of lands belonging to Lord Jagannath and stressed that district administrations must intervene without delay to safeguard the deity’s properties.
Among the key directions, the government asked officials to ensure early disposal of 11,675 miscellaneous revenue cases pending in various tahasils of Khordha, Puri, Jagatsinghpur, Baleshwar, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Ganjam, Kataka and Kendrapada districts. The cases were instituted by the SJTA and their disposal has been sought in line with earlier directions issued by the Board of Revenue.
The government also directed immediate implementation of orders passed by the Member, Board of Revenue, in 257 cases filed by the SJTA under Section 7(A) of the Odisha Estates Abolition Act, copies of which have already been communicated to the respective Tahasildars.
The letter instructed Tahasildars to examine the 1927-28 Record-of-Rights and initiate correction of Khewats wherever necessary, noting that the Supreme Court had set aside the vesting notification dated March 18, 1974, relating to the endowment of Lord Jagannath under the Odisha Estates Abolition Act.
Revenue authorities have further been asked to verify historical land records, including the pre-Sabik Record-of-Rights published during 1888-89, 1925-26, 1927-28, 1929-30 and 1977-78, along with other relevant revenue documents, while deciding cases relating to the temple’s endowment properties to ensure correct determination of title.
The department also directed officials to provide authenticated copies of pre-Sabik and Sabik Record-of-Rights and Sabik-Hal correlation reports to the SJTA to facilitate effective filing and prosecution of cases before the Board of Revenue.
To strengthen protection of temple lands, Collectors have been asked to deploy experienced field staff, including Revenue Inspectors, Amins and other revenue personnel, for identification, verification and protection of Jagannath temple properties. These officials will also conduct regular field inspections to prevent encroachment, unauthorised occupation, fraudulent claims and creation of private interests over temple lands.
The Additional Chief Secretary directed that progress on these issues be reviewed every month at district, sub-divisional and tahasil-level revenue meetings, with monthly progress reports to be submitted to the Revenue and Disaster Management Department.
Emphasising that all necessary measures should be taken to effectively preserve the properties of Lord Shree Jagannatha Mahaprabhu, the government said the initiative aims to safeguard the interests of the deity and minimise avoidable litigation over temple lands.
