Cuttack admin takes over Barabati Palace

Cuttack: Acting on the Supreme Court’s order, the district administration took possession of ‘Barabati Palace’ marriage hall and 23 shops around it, in the presence of two additional district magistrates (ADMs) and the Sadar tehsildar this afternoon.

From today onwards, booking for Barabati Palace will be done through bank draft or cheque only, said additional collector Laxmidhara Mohanty. “We will advertise in the media regarding this,” he added.

On Thursday, the apex court had ordered the accountant-general (AG) to audit the accounts of Orissa Olympic Association (OOA) that built business establishments on encroached government land for decades.

In 1949, the OOA had got 20 acre of government land on lease for construction of Barabati stadium. But in the mid-70s, it encroached upon 2 acre of adjacent vacant government land.

The OOA in 1986 sub-leased the encroached land and developed various business establishments, including the marriage hall, on that land. The State government approached the High Court challenging the OOA enchroachment.