BHUBANESWAR: With the demolition drive at Shampur mouza continuing for the second consecutive day, the Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) on Saturday claimed to have reclaimed over 61 acre government land from encroachment.
BDA officials said of the total 68 acre government land under encroachment, they were able to free nearly 61.4 acre. However, the remaining 6.6 acre could not be touched due to ongoing legal proceedings, they said.
The BDA, on the day, intensified its demolition activity with 12 JCB machines deployed to clear unauthorised structures. Though there were protests from a section of people, the agency managed to demolish 739 houses, taking the overall count to 926 in two days. In addition, around 300 under-construction structures were also razed.
A senior official said the reclaimed land will be utilised for infrastructure and development projects aligned with the capital city master plan. He said extensive security arrangements were put in place to ensure smooth execution of the drive. Around 10 platoons of police force along with 50 police personnel were deployed at the site. Authorities also claimed that the entire operation was conducted peacefully without any major law and order issues.
Prior to the eviction, the BDA had issued multiple notices to residents and made repeated public announcements through loudspeakers, urging encroachers to vacate the land voluntarily and the drive was undertaken only after following due legal procedure.
In December 2023, the BDA had filed an FIR with the Economic Offences Wing (EOW), alleging illegal encroachment and sale of parts of the land by organised land mafia in the area, prompting strict enforcement action. Initially, around 23 houses had been demolished in 2024 which was stopped abruptly following protests.