BHUBANESWAR: Ending a four-and-a-half-decade-long dispute over five acres of land along the Kuakhai river, the Board of Revenue, Odisha, has directed the Bhubaneswar tehsildar to restore the revenue records in favour of the General Administration (GA) department.
The disputed land, estimated to be worth over Rs 100 crore at current market prices, was originally recorded in the Sabik records as ‘anabadi’ with the kisam ‘nadi’ (river). However, the property was subsequently reflected as private land in the revenue records. The case was heard by Member, Board of Revenue, Satyabrata Sahu.
Hearing the petition filed by the GA department, the court examined the Sabik and Hal Records of Rights (RoR), settlement records, cadastral maps, government documents and field verification reports.
The land formed part of an erstwhile estate and vested in the State following the operation of the Odisha Estate Abolition Act. Private rights were subsequently claimed on the basis of a 1944 lease deed and later registered sale deeds.
However, the Board found that the proceedings did not establish any satisfactory government order or valid approval recognising the continuation of such private rights after the land had vested in the State. It also held that the mere passage of several decades could not alter the original character of the land or override the legal consequences of its vesting in the State.
The Board of Revenue further observed that revenue entries, mutation records or subsequent registration of sale deeds cannot, by themselves, confer valid title where the person transferring the property did not possess the requisite legal title.
A field inspection by the Bhubaneswar tehsildar also indicated that the disputed parcel falls within the riverine area of the Kuakhai and remains subject to its natural flow.
Accordingly, the Board set aside the existing private recording and directed the Bhubaneswar tehsildar to verify the relevant Sabik and Hal RoRs, settlement records, maps and the present physical status of the land before carrying out necessary corrections in accordance with law. The records are to be updated to reflect the government’s title and interest through the General Administration department, the Board directed.
The dispute also flagged a critical issue concerning the protection of riverbeds and adjoining areas in the rapidly expanding capital region. The Kuakhai riverbed forms part of the natural drainage system and plays a key role in the movement and temporary storage of floodwater.
