BHUBANESWAR: In a significant ruling, the Board of Revenue at Cuttack on Friday directed restoration of over 11 acre land located right in front of the Sun Temple at Konark to government records by cancelling a 37-year-old order of the then commissioner of land records and settlement.
The land’s market value, estimated at over Rs 110 crore, is located in Konark mouza in front of the World Heritage Site.
Member, Board of Revenue, Satyabrata Sahu passed the order, allowing two revision cases filed by the Puri collector in November 2025 with the approval of the state government. Hearing in case had started since January this year.
According to case records, the disputed land was recorded as ‘anabadi/puratana patita’ in Sabik records. Subsequently, in 1989, a portion of the land was recorded as ‘sthitiban’ in the name of Bhajani Rout by the then commissioner, land records and settlement, on the basis of two claimed ‘hata pattas’ - a lease allegedly issued by the former zamindar.
The claimant asserted that the land was given to him through ‘hata pattas’ and supported his claims with long-term possession, cultivation, payment of rent and subsequent revenue records.
The Member, Board of Revenue in his order said that the claim was principally founded upon two alleged unregistered ‘hata pattas’ of 1943 but neither the original instruments nor satisfactory contemporaneous evidence establishing their execution, terms, extent, legal effect and authority of the alleged lessors has been produced in the materials presently available.
The alleged lease constituted the primary source from which the subsequent claim of tenancy was sought to be derived. However, in absence of reliable proof of source, the subsequent revenue entries require independent scrutiny and cannot by themselves establish the creation of a legally enforceable tenancy, the board’s order added.
The board also examined if the land claimant had the legal power to transfer the property and assessed the distinction between possession and ownership. In its order, it observed that even if a person remains in possession of a land for a long time, paid rent or his name appeared in revenue records, that alone does not automatically prove the legal basis of original ownership.
If the claim of right is based on a lease or settlement by a former intermediary, the order said, its validity and compliance with the provisions of the Odisha Estates Abolition Act must be examined. The revenue board held that revenue entries and possession are administrative tools and do not amount to absolute proof of ownership. Without a valid underlying legal title, such entries cannot convert public property into private holdings, it observed and quashed the 1989 settlement order in full.
Sahu directed that necessary correction should carried out in records as per law and to ensure protection of the government road existing on the spot and other government or common property. The board commended the tehsildar’s field inquiry report which pointed out existence of a government road within the larger Sabik plot.