BHUBANESWAR: In a major order, the Board of Revenue, Odisha, has restored 1.5 acres of Amruta Manohi land in the name of Lord Jagannath, thwarting attempts to take over such landed property belonging to the deity.
The land, involved in two cases, is located near Gundicha Temple in Puri and had been brought up for change of kisam (classification), but Member, Board of Revenue, Satyabrata Sahu, exercising powers vested under Section 32 of the Odisha Survey and Settlement Act, 1958, restored it to the Srimandir.
Sahu also directed the Chief Administrator of Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) to bring the 1.5-acre land back into the account of Lord Jagannath.
The records of the land showed Lord Jagannath as the owner, with the land classified as Amruta Manohi. However, the records were allegedly changed to private names and sold subsequently. It was during the reclassification of kisam and disputes over private ownership that the matter reached the Board of Revenue, Odisha.
The intervention of the Board of Revenue, however, has not only restored the original status of the Amruta Manohi land belonging to Lord Jagannath but also dealt a body blow to unlawful attempts to take over the Lord’s land. The land, located in Talabania mauza, close to the Gundicha Temple, is considered valuable.
During its hearings, the Board of Revenue inspected the old records available in the case and found that the entire land had been recorded in the name of Lord Jagannath as Amruta Manohi in the 1889 settlement record. It was found that the then administrator of Shree Jagannath Temple Administration had transferred six plots in favour of a private person through a registered sale deed in 2001 without obtaining prior approval of the Temple Managing Committee and the previous sanction of the state government as contemplated under Section 16(2) of the Shri Jagannath Temple Act, 1955.
Subsequently, the land was transferred to another person through a registered sale deed. Taking suo motu cognisance of the matter under Section 32 of the Odisha Survey and Settlement Act, the Board examined the relevant records and documents in detail.
The old and current records, sale deeds, source of the land and the legal provisions relating to Shri Jagannath Temple properties were considered, while it was also found that no evidence of prior approval of the state government had been produced in the case. In such cases, Law Department approval is compulsory.
The Board, in its hearing, held that if the legality of the original transfer is not established, the defect cannot be resolved merely through a subsequent sale deed. It was also considered that even a claim of consent or no-objection from the Temple Managing Committee cannot substitute for the mandatory prior approval of the state government.
Accordingly, the Board examined the discrepancy between the original land records and the subsequent transfers and directed the settlement authorities concerned to bring the current and non-final records in conformity with the old records and record the entire land in the name of ‘Sri Jagannath Mahaprabhu Bije, Puri, Marfat Temple Managing Committee, Amruta Manohi.’
Government advocate Ambika Prasad Mishra strongly presented the case on behalf of Lord Jagannath for protection of the deity’s property.