PURI: As the Bagala Dharmasala land controversy snowballs into a political storm, the State Government and Puri administration find themselves on a sticky wicket because the Collector, apparently, has no power to sell any property of the Dharmasala of which, he is a trustee.
The Dharmasala was donated by a devotee of Rajasthan for accommodating poor pilgrims and as per law, it cannot be used for any other purpose or transferred by any means. As per the Sabik land record, the Dharmasala land belonged to Shri Jagannath temple till 1888 and a year later, it went to the Bengal Government following a land settlement.
The devotee Babu Kanheyalal Bagala had purchased the land measuring 2.789 acres under Balagandi Mouza from the then Bengal Government in 1898. He constructed the Dharmasala over the land and in 1905, donated the building and the land to the Lodging House Fund Committee, a Government body headed by the Puri collector, which was constituted under the Bihar and Orissa Places of Pilgrimage Act, 1920.
According to the records, in 1948 some businessmen of the city had impressed upon the then Collector to sell the Dhamasala which was strongly protested by Kanheyalal’s son who approached the then Governor Kailashnath Katju in this regard. Governor Katju visited the spot and stopped the land sale bid.
QUESTIONABLE LAND TRANSFER
In November 2018, the Odisha Government repealed the Bihar and Orissa Places of Pilgrimage Act, 1920 and Puri Municipality was entrusted with management of Bagala Dharmasala.
It was planned to rebuild the dilapidated Dharmasala and construct Jagannath Bishramasthali at the cost of Rs 18 crore under Central Government’s PRASAD Yojana and the work was entrusted to Indian Tourism Development Corporation by Puri-Konark Development Authority (PKDA). The PKDA obtained permission from the Shri Jagannath Temple and Housing & Urban Development department for the purpose.
The Dharmasala had 56 rooms, nine huge dormitories to provide shelter to poor pilgrims and two ponds - one for drinking water requirement and another for other purposes. Subsequently, the Lodging House Fund Committee added another 18 rooms to the structure. The ITDC has demolished the structure except the 18 rooms and levelled the land for further development work. Hence, the claim that the Dharmasala is being renovated holds no water.
But between August 5 and August 12 this year, the Puri administration sold around 35 decimals (12.23 per cent of the total area) to six lodge owners who were evicted from near the Shri Jagannath Temple to create the 75-metre-wide security corridor around the 12th century shrine. Politicians cutting across party lines, lawyers and locals decried the move.
The Congress has demanded Collector Balwant Singh’s removal over the controversial land deal. He is accused of violating the law by transferring the land from Puri Municipality to Revenue and Disaster Management department on October 25,2019.
"The Bagala Dharmasala land has been relinquished in favour of Revenue and Disaster Management department after approval of the State Urban and Housing Department vide letter no.25.10.2019," a notification by the Collector read.
President of the Puri Bar Association Ashok Kumar Das said the Collector has no power to sell the Dharmasala property as he is its trustee. "The Dharmasala was donated by a devotee for pilgrims and cannot be used for other purposes or transferred by any means," Das said. The Supreme Court in a number of similar cases had ruled that under no circumstances, any Dharmasala land can be sold.
In fact, the administration’s alleged attempt to sell the Bagala Dharmasala land to hoteliers and people displaced by the security corridor project had come to light last year when Odisha Bridge Construction Corporation (OBCC) applied PKDA for approval of the plot layout plan on the Dharmasala land for approval. The entire land was divided into 26 plots but plan has not yet been approved by the State Government or PKDA.
Subsequently, a PIL was filed by social activist Jagannath Bastia in the Orissa High Court challenging the district administration’s decision to sell the land and the matter is sub-judice till now. "When the matter is pending in the High Court, how can the administration give away a portion of the land to the six lodge owners," Das asked. The High Court had also issued a notice to Puri Collector and eight other opposite parties. While Puri Tehsildar filed his counter reply, the eight others are yet to do so.
UNANSWERED QUESTIONS
The issue has also brought to the light several questions to which, the administration has no answers. Collector Singh has been reiterating that only those who bequeathed their century-old property for the security corridor project were given the Bagala Dharmasala land. However, after hue and cry, he admitted that 12.23 per cent of the total land was registered in the name of six lodge owners.
In a release, he stated that the Odisha Government has plans to reconstruct the Dharmasala. If that was the purpose, why did the OBCC submit plot layout of Dharmasala land for approval, many have questioned.
Government in September last year had announced a massive special package for rehabilitation and resettlement of individuals who would be affected by the corridor project. The package offered resettlement assistance with two options for the displaced lodge owners. One option states that a lodge owner can opt for one time settlement at the rate Rs 2000 per square feet built up area.
Another states that a lodge owner can opt for allotment of a resettlement plot (of three different grades) within 300 metres on either side of the Grand Road on payment of bench mark valuation of the land. This apart, the allottee would get Rs 750 as construction assistance per square feet land acquired.
The six persons who received plots in Bagala Dharmasala had also allegedly received compensation in crores of rupees under one time settlement. For instance, one person of Jaleswar was paid about Rs 3 crore against acquisition of a building which stood on 0.058 decimal plot but was again provided more than the acquired land against payment of a meagre Rs 41 lakh as bench mark valuation.
The permission of Shri Jagannath Temple administration was sought by PKDA for establishment of Jagannath Bishramasthali at the Dharmasala complex by ITDC but the temple body was not consulted before Dharmasala land was transferred to Revenue and Disaster Management department.
The Collector as Chairperson of the Municipality in absence of an elected body in a council meeting resolved to sell the Dharmasala for raising funds for the civic body last year. The Collector violated his own resolution and transferred the Bagala Dharmasala to Revenue department without paying consideration money to the Municipality. As per Sec 227 of The Orissa Municipal Act, any transaction by the Municipality should be made on payment.