Recover dues from defaulters or evict them, Orissa HC tells municipality 

Petitioner Rabindra Kumar Mohapatra had alleged that the municipal authorities are sitting over the arrears without taking any steps for recovery of such huge dues.
For representational purposes
For representational purposes

CUTTACK: Municipality shop room rent defaulters in Jeypore town of Koraput district will now face the music as the Orissa High Court has directed the civic body to recover the dues within three months or evict them. The Court issued the order on Monday while disposing of a PIL that had sought intervention against inaction of Jeypore Municipality authorities in recovery of Rs 1.04 crore arrears outstanding against the licencees whom the civic body had allotted shops on rent. 

Petitioner Rabindra Kumar Mohapatra had alleged that the municipal authorities are sitting over the arrears without taking any steps for recovery of such huge dues.“Steps shall be taken against the licencees for their eviction in accordance with law who do not pay their dues within the aforesaid period. Apart from demand notice to the defaulters, public notice in writing in that respect under the signature of the Executive Officer shall be given in conspicuous public places and also by publishing the same by beat of drums,” the division bench of Acting Chief Justice Sanju Panda and Justice SK Sahoo said in its order.

The Court disposed of the PIL after Executive Officer Alok Ranjan Samantaray admitted in an affidavit that outstanding rental dues are yet to be collected from the defaulters.

“Notices had been issued to several defaulters calling upon them to pay outstanding dues. As a result, a substantial amount of dues has been collected by the municipality. A whopping Rs 1.04 crore was outstanding against the licencees,” Samantaray had stated in the affidavit. Petitioner’s counsel Shivshankar Mohanty said, “The Executive Officer has also been asked to take further effective steps at an earliest.”

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