Land scam reported in Puri; buyers left in lurch

Puri: A total of 18 land buyers in Matitota near Mangalaghat of Puri have been left in lurch after the district administration served notices to them asking not to undertake any construction work on the land, which is still under ownership of the State government.

The notice was issued to the buyers after the visit of Puri Tehsildar Prabir Kumar Khilar to the spot.

Khilar said, “Out of the five acres government land, three acres are encroachment-free whereas house construction has been undertaken on one-and-half acre. Necessary action will be taken against persons, who have been residing in an unauthorised manner.”

Baishnab Charan Biswal, who had bought a plot 10 years back at Matitota, said, “After a notary registration, we were given possession of the land and therefore, we built the house. We will request the district administration to help us.”

Hemant Behera, another resident of Matitota, pointed out, “We did not know the land, on which we have built houses, is a government property until we received the notice.”

Even though a case pertaining to the land is pending in the court, the land was sold to 18 buyers and that too through notary registration only.

However Dayanidhi Behera, the man who has sold the land to the buyers shocks with his statement. He said, “My father had recorded the land in his name in 1948. To transfer the land in my name, a civil case was filed in 2001 in a court and the final verdict has not come out yet. As I was in need of money, I had sold some parts of the land to others."