Orissa High Court nullifies RDA notice for land ‘encroachment’

The Orissa High Court on Wednesday struck down a notice issued by the Rourkela Development Authority (RDA) directing the removal of alleged encroachment on government land.

Justice S K Panigrahi, while hearing the case on 31st October, ruled that the RDA had acted ‘without jurisdiction’ and in a ‘colourable exercise of power’.

The RDA had earlier issued the notice under Section 91 of the Orissa Development Authorities Act, 1982, claiming that the association occupying the land had encroached upon government property.

However, the court noted that a lease proposal was already pending before the Sundargarh collector and that the RDA should have awaited the outcome of those proceedings instead of issuing the show-cause notice.

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The petitioners argued that they had applied for regularisation of the land on 26th May 2015 for long-standing socio-cultural and public welfare purposes. They had also paid rent and penalties on the property.

According to the petition, the RDA’s fresh action amounted to jurisdictional overreach and double jeopardy, since the matter was already under consideration by the collector.

The court directed the Sundargarh collector to decide on the pending lease proposal in accordance with a government resolution dated 24th April 2015, within three months. 

The judgment emphasized that the authority of the RDA under the ODA Act and the powers of the collector/revenue authorities under the Orissa Prevention of Land Encroachment Act, 1972, are distinct, and the RDA’s action in this instance improperly overlapped with the collector’s jurisdiction.