BHUBANESWAR: Suspecting encroachment of a staggering 570 acre earmarked for rehabilitation of families relocated from Chandaka wildlife sanctuary on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar, the forest department has asked Bhubaneswar tehsildar for immediate identification and updation of database of the land patches.
Sources said, the lands do not reflect in the name of their actual owners in Bhulekh portal of the Revenue department and could have been transacted illegally.
Sources in the Wildlife wing said about 569.61 acre land, including 197 acre classified as forest kisam, had been identified in Krushnanagar, Bhuasuni and Tulsadeipur mouzas of Bhubaneswar tehsil for rehabilitation of around 586 families to be relocated from a Gadjit village comprising Dholkath, Naukua, Behentasahi, Pithakhia and Dahangigadia hamlets within Chandaka wildlife sanctuary during 1998. The families included 455 residing in Gadjit villages and 131 encroachers. Till 2008, about 137 families could be rehabilitated in three phases by the Forest department as per a rehabilitation scheme worked out by the Chandaka wildlife division in 1993. The rehabilitated families received about 6.85 acre homestead and 214 acre agricultural land. The land settlement for the same was also completed by June 2013.
However, sources said, despite completion of pattas and land settlement, the beneficiaries cannot find the record of rights (patta) in their names. It also does not reflect in the Bhulekh portal of the Revenue department. In some cases, the pattas handed over to the oustees are in the name of others in the Bhulekh portal.
The Forest department suspects large-scale encroachment by the mafia and land sharks as other than the 220.85 acre handed over to the rehabilitated families, the remaining 349 acre land does not reflect in the division’s record, though the same had been brought under its control.
With real estate business at its peak in Bhubaneswar and its periphery, the Chandaka division officials do not rule out land grab by property sharks as their value would be in hundreds of crores of rupees. The kisam of the land are primarily gochara, patita, puratan gochar, chota jungle and road.
Sources said the division has asked Bhubaneswar tehsildar to immediately re-identify all the 569.61 acre and sought record update of the land already handed over to the beneficiaries. The rest must be handed back to Chandaka wildlife division after clearing them of encroachment so that genuine beneficiaries can be allocated the land as per the new rehabilitation scheme of the state government.