Cuttack: Taking note of mushrooming private boys' and girls' hostels in the CDA area of Cuttack, the Odisha High Court on Thursday asked officials of the Cuttack Development Authority to vacate all such hostels within the Christmas holiday.
The court ordered the CDA authorities a compliance report in this regard on January 7.
Earlier, while hearing a public interest litigation filed by Cuttack-based lawyer Shivsankar Mohanty, the High Court had directed the State government in April to submit details on the measures it had taken to regulate illegal private boys' and girls' hostels in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack.
The petitioner had sought a direction to the government to ensure that all private boys' and girls' hostel running illegally without permission are identified and registered with the police immediately.
The petitioner also wanted a direction to the municipal corporations of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack to impose fines or penalties on owners for converting their residential buildings into hostels without prior permission of the authorities or registration.