ROURKELA: Ending a long-drawn legal battle, the authorities of Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) with help of local police took possession of 3.19 acre land at Sector 5 from the ‘illegal’ possession of Adarsh Pathagar on Friday.
Interestingly, the reclamation of the valuable landed property was done not on court order, but after the lapse of the three months of a stay order from the Orissa High Court.
The prime land parcel contains the Adarsh Pathagar building along with the entire Bhanja Bhawan complex, including the Bhanja Kala Kendra, Bhanja auditorium, two other halls, an open ground and a couple of residential structures. With the necessary eviction drive, the RSP sealed all the landed assets on the day.
Way back in 1974, the land parcel of 3.19 acre was sub-leased to Adarsh Pathagar for a nominal amount. In 1982, the Bhanja Cultural Trust was formed under the patronage of the RSP, and the Pathagar was brought under its control. After end of the 30-year sub-lease period in 2004 the Pathagar authorities refused to pay the revised land premium, security deposit, service charges, etc. Renewal of the sub-lease was not done with dues mounting to Rs 67 lakh by 2020.
In between, the Bhanja Cultural Trust constructed or augmented all the building structures. The Pathagar too constructed two small structures. Sources said during 2020, the estate officer of RSP had initiated proceedings for eviction. However, the Pathagar moved the high court challenging the eviction proceeding with a writ petition. Things took an ugly turn when Pathagar authorities ‘forcefully’ took control of the entire complex in 2021 and were reportedly using it for commercial activities since then.
In September 2023, the high court dismissed the Pathagar’s writ petition terming the RSP’s eviction proceeding legal and proper. Subsequently, the estate officer directed the Pathagar authorities to vacate the land within 15 days.
However, the Pathagar authorities moved the Sundargarh district judge who in April 2024 asked them to vacate the premises in two months. In June 2024, the authorities again appealed to the high court and managed to get a stay order for three months.
General manager of the PR department and RSP spokesperson Archana Satpathy said the validity of the stay order was for three months till September 2024. Following due legal procedures, the RSP reclaimed the Bhanja Bhawan complex.
Despite being in unauthorised occupation, the Adarsh Pathagar authorities were illegally using the premises for commercial purposes and collecting cash with no records. The RSP would renovate the complex for promotion of socio-cultural activities, she added.