Concerns flagged over sale of encroached govt land by mafias in Bhubaneswar

Some land mafias are reportedly encroaching on government lands illegally in Bhubaneswar. Moreover, they are looting gullible people by selling those encroached lands for lakhs of rupees.

Such practice was recently reported from the Shyampur area which is located on the outskirts of the State capital. Some mafias allegedly encroached on acres of land in the area and illegally sold it to many private individuals for lakhs of rupees. Plotting of those lands has been done and many private individuals have constructed buildings on those lands after buying it from the land mafias.

Land mafias cheat people

Individuals, who bought those lands from the mafias, have admitted that they paid lakhs of rupees to purchase the lands. They also admitted that no documentation for the land transaction has been done yet.

“I don’t know whether it is government land or not. I was told by some real estate brokers that I could buy the land from them. I paid them Rs 35,000 and took possession of the land. However, the BDA has issued me a notice terming it as encroachment. I am clueless and helpless now,” said a person, who claims to have been cheated by a land mafia.

Moreover, amid the prevailing perception that government land is available freely, people residing near the area have encroached on many more government lands by covering those with ropes, bamboo, and clothes. Even, people have encroached forests and open fields in the area. 

“We have been living in rented houses in slums for years. We didn’t get any land under the Jaga Mission. So, we will live wherever we will find a piece of land,” said a person in the Shyampur area.

“We are poor people. We don’t have enough money to buy a piece of land and build a house of our own. We saw several people encroaching on land by ring-fencing the area with ropes. We also followed them. We request the government to provide us a piece of land to build a house of our own,” said a woman.

Now questions are being raised as to who is behind the encroachment of government lands on the outskirts of the Capital City. Though the illegal proceedings are continuing for a long time, the Odisha government seems to be clueless about it.

BDA issues notice

As per the officials, BDA has more than 60 acres of land in the Shyampur area. However, most of those lands have been encroached upon. Illegal construction work has been undertaken on most of those lands.

BDA has reportedly issued notices to as many as 18 persons in this connection.

“The State government has allotted 60 acres of land to the BDA for an affordable housing project in the Shyampur area. However, some people have illegally encroached on lands there. We have issued notices to 18 people in the first phase. Some more people are involved in the land encroachment. We will start an inquiry into the incident and proper action will be taken against them as per the inquiry report,” said BDA Secretary, Kabindra Sahoo.

Opposition slams Odisha govt

Meanwhile, politics has intensified in the State over the land encroachment issue. Opposition BJP and Congress slammed the State government over the development.

“It is quite unfortunate that poor people are being looted by the land mafias who have encroached acres of government land. Only giving responsibilities to the BDA and the BMC is not enough. It’s a criminal act to cheat poor people by selling them land illegally for huge sums. The mafia raaj encouraged by the State government should be stopped immediately,” said Congress leader, Bijay Patnaik.

“In the name of slum dwellers, so many land mafias have encroached on government lands. The issue may snowball into a major controversy and lead to disturbances in the near future,” rued BJP leader, Babu Singh.

No comments have been received from the ruling BJD.