Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has directed revenue officials to expedite the disposal of thousands of pending revenue cases related to land belonging to Lord Shree Jagannatha Mahaprabhu in Puri.
The move is aimed at protecting and ensuring proper management of the temple’s landed properties.
In a letter issued on July 13, Additional Chief Secretary of the Revenue and Disaster Management Department, Dr. Arabinda Kumar Padhee, instructed the Secretary of the Board of Revenue, all Revenue Divisional Commissioners, Collectors, and the Director of Land Records and Surveys to personally monitor the cases and ensure prompt action in accordance with the law and court directions.
The department said several issues relating to the recording, protection, and management of the temple’s land require urgent attention. It asked district administrations to intervene without delay to safeguard the properties of Lord Jagannath.
The government has directed officials to ensure the speedy disposal of 11,675 miscellaneous revenue cases filed by the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration in various tahasils of Khordha, Puri, Jagatsinghpur, Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Ganjam, Cuttack and Kendrapada districts. These cases are to be disposed of in line with the Board of Revenue’s directions issued in October 2022.
The letter also asked officials to implement the orders passed by the Member, Board of Revenue, in 257 cases filed by the SJTA under Section 7(A) of the Odisha Estates Abolition Act. Copies of these orders have already been sent to the concerned Tahasildars for necessary action.
Further, Tahasildars have been directed to examine the 1927-28 Record-of-Rights and take steps to correct Khewats wherever required, in accordance with the applicable legal provisions.
The Revenue and Disaster Management Department said all actions should be taken on priority while strictly following statutory provisions, government instructions, and court orders issued from time to time.
