BHUBANESWAR: In a significant move, the Odisha government has warned action against revenue officials for their alleged involvement in ‘wrong’ recording of ‘swatwa’ (property rights) of leaseout government land.
In a guarded letter to all districts, the additional chief secretary of the Revenue and Disaster Management department, DK Singh, has asked to examine the status of the land leased out to individuals and organisations for various purposes, and rectify as per law.
The direction came after the government noticed that in some cases, lease of government land sanctioned in favour of various organisations, industrial and commercial concerns and public sector undertakings, corporations, local authorities and entrepreneurs for non-agricultural, commercial and industrial purposes have been wrongly and illegally recorded under ‘sthitiban’ (homestead land) status in the record-of-rights.
“This wrong recording of government leasehold land is a serious illegality and irregularity. It is causing serious problems like potential land embezzlement, misuse and legal issues like increased litigation,” he said.
As per the prevailing rules for recording government land, the status of the land - ‘sthitiban’ and ‘rayati’ (rights to hold land for agricultural purposes) are awarded only for the land given for the purpose of agriculture and its ancillary purposes. But if the land is given for non-agricultural purposes, then the status of the land cannot be ‘sthitiban’. In such cases, a lease deed is executed and the ownership and rights are regulated as per the terms of the said lease deed.
If a lease deed is executed in such cases, a separate account is prepared in the name of the lessee concerned or the record of rights holder. The owner of the land will be mentioned as ‘lessee’ and the land will be regulated by the terms of the lease.
The state government leases out lands to various organisations, industrial houses, commercial and public sector undertakings, corporations, local authorities and entrepreneurs for various non-agricultural, commercial and industrial purposes. “In such cases, a lease deed is executed laying down the terms and conditions of the lease and the use of the land is governed by such terms and conditions. The status of the land should be recorded as ‘pattadar’ and not as ‘sthitiban’ only after the lease deed is executed in such cases,” the letter stated.
The department has asked collectors to instruct all tehsildars to verify the RoRs relating to leasehold property and rectify all those improper recording committed illegally by unscrupulous officials. “Action will be taken if it is not done in a time-bound manner,” it said.