Bulldozer likely to raze Baikuntha Dham ashram in Bhubaneswar as Orissa HC lifts interim protection

The Orissa High Court has lifted the interim stay on the eviction process for the Baikuntha Dham ashram in Khandagiri area of Bhubaneswar, potentially permitting the future demolition activities, sources said on Friday.

This follows a previous court directive on November 21, last year, which granted temporary reprieve, prohibiting any aggressive actions against the ashram's structure.

According to petitioners, the patch of land occupied by Baikuntha Dham Trust supports yoga education initiatives, with the Department of School and Mass Education (S&ME) having advised the General Administration (GA) Department to transfer this land to the Trust.

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The ashram's Trust, however, did not furnish requisite construction permissions. High Court nullified its initial relief after reviewing the government's status update. 

A recommendation letter claimed to be of the GA department and submitted by the petitioner to the court was found to be fabricated.

The High Court has mandated that the ashram authorities respond comprehensively to the government’s affidavit by the next scheduled hearing on February 3.

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Worth mentioning, acting on allegation of government land encroachment, GA department earlier verified and found that Baikuntha Dham ashram was built on 140 decimal of government land. The Assistant Director (Survey & Enforcement) Amiya Kumar Das had previously informed about the same.

“The ashram is located on plot numbers 9037 and 9038 in Ghatikia over an area of 0.140 acre. On verification, it was found to be government land,” the official had said.