Plot allotment: HC asks for Task Force report in closed envelope

Cuttack: Hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) over the government land allotment issue, the Orissa High Court has directed the State government to submit the investigation report of the Task Force in a closed envelope.

Taking suo motu cognisance of a letter of Ramesh chandra Sahu of Cuttack and turning it into a PIL, the court also asked the government to attach the action-taken report (ATR) with the probe report if it had taken any action on the basis of the Task Force's recommendations.

In his petition, Sahu has also prayed the court to order a CBI investigation into the land allotment scam.

Sharp reactions surfaced from all walks of life after Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) published irregularities in allotment of government land in its reports. Many people have acquired more than one government plot and flat violating the norms of discretionary quota.

The State government on August 2 constituted a Task Force with senior administrator Tara Dutta as its head and the Secretaries of General Administration and Urban Development departments as its members, to probe the matter.

The terms of reference was announced on August 12 which directed to examine all the flats and plots allotted between 1995 and July 31, 2014. The Task Force was asked to submit its report in four months.

Though the panel submitted the probe report to the government on October 31, the contents of the report have not been made public as yet.