Odisha govt acquires 4 acres of ‘grabbed’ land from BJD leader’s associate in Dharmasala

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Jajpur, Sept 23:

As part of the much belated drive to recover government land from the hands of land grabbers and encroachers, the Odisha government took possession of four acres of encroached government land under Dharmasala tehsil in Jajpur district.

According to reports, a team of Revenue officials led by Dharmasala tehsildar Ranjan Kumar Jena and revenue inspector (RI) of Balarampur-II tehsil Bira Kishore Maharana on Monday went to Anjira village to take possession of 75 acres of encroached government land.

The team, with the help of the villagers, took possession of four acres of land after uprooting the cashew trees planted on it. The land was encroached by one Baya Sahu, a close associate of senior BJD leader and Rajya Sabha member Kalpataru Das.

The eviction drive would be intensified further to take possession of the remaining 71 acres, the Revenue officials told media persons.

It may be mentioned here that the additional chief secretary, Revenue Taradutt, during his surprise tour to the district on Sunday, had directed the district Revenue officials to take possession of all encroached government land under Dharmasala tehsil.

He had also directed them to demolish the house of Baya Sahu, who has illegally constructed his house on government land.