SAMBALPUR: Residents of Boudh and Kalahandi under Revenue Divisional Commissioner (South) jurisdiction have demanded that the two districts be brought under RDC (North) limits for operational reasons.
Odisha has three revenue divisions with their headquarters at Sambalpur, Berhampur and Cuttack. Sambalpur-based Revenue Divisional Commissioner (North) has jurisdiction over Angul, Balangir, Bargarh, Deogarh, Dhenkanal, Jharsuguda, Keonjhar, Sambalpur, Subarnapur and Sundargarh districts. Similarly, RDC (South) operates from Berhampur and it includes Ganjam, Gajapati, Kandhamal, Boudh, Rayagada, Koraput, Malkangiri, Nabarangpur, Kalahandi and Nuapada districts. The Cuttack-based RDC (Central) covers Balasore, Bhadrak, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Jajpur, Kendrapara, Khurda, Mayurbhanj, Nayagarh and Puri districts. While Boudh is located 100 km from Sambalpur and 232 km from Berhampur, the distance between Sambalpur and Bhawanipatna is 208 km and distance between Berhampur and Bhawanipatna is 302 km. They said Sambalpur is not only located closer to the two districts, it will also save them time and money as far as official works are concerned.
Although they have petitioned the State Government several times, the Paschim Odisha Krushak Sangathan Samanwaya Samiti (POKSSS), which is spearheading the agitation over demands and rights of the farmers, recently raked up the issue during their demonstration on Thursday.
Since the POKSSS has members from all the 10 districts of Western Odisha, including Boudh and Kalahandi, they are demanding that the two districts be merged with RDC (North). This will help them in taking up farmers’ issue of the entire region. They also demanded that RDC (North) be renamed as RDC (Western Zone).
Prakash Meher of Boudh said travelling to Berhmapur for any revenue work needs two days, whereas they can visit Sambalpur within a few hours. Since it is a genuine demand, the State Government should reorganise the revenue divisions accordingly, he added.
Similar sentiment was echoed by advocate Sushanta Pati of Nuapada who said the Government should consider operational ease of the people. He suggested that Dhenkanal be merged with central division as it is located closer to Cuttack while Nuapada, Kalahandi and Boudh be merged with northern range.