For 80-year-old Bata Krushna Rout, Bhubaneswar’s transformation from a laidback town to an eastern India urban hub has been bittersweet. A resident of Narayani Basti in unit 8 for six decades, Rout now faces eviction as city planners want to replace his home with a garden (Pramod Udyan).

On Monday, Rout and fellow residents met chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi to protest the move. “I worked as a labourer here and I have put my sweat, blood and tears to make this city livable for people. The Naveen Patnaik government recognised people like me through the Odisha Land Rights to Slum Dwellers Act, 2017, and we were given pattas (land deeds). Now our hopes lie shattered,” said Rout, originally from Jajpur district.

Rout said the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) recently served them eviction notices, citing plans for Pramod Udyan at their site. “We asked him whether the law changes with changing governments and if the poor had to bear the brunt of such abrupt changes. We would rather die than leave this place,” he said.

In March 2024, land rights were granted to 60,589 households and 34,564 certifiates were distributed.

Basti Surakshya Manch secretary Pramila Behera told The Telegraph: “They are evicting people who have lived here for 50 years without offering alternative land. The Majhi government calls itself the people’s government, but this action says otherwise. We hope the chief minister is not just hoodwinking us.”

Behera said a BMC survey under clause 482 identified 130 families in Narayani Basti as eligible for land rights. “Sixty-two families have certificates and others have letters confirming they will get them soon. This is no longer encroached land — it’s our homestead property. Forcible eviction violates the rule of law,” she said.

Human rights activist Biswa Priya Kanungo added: “Right to shelter is fundamental. The 2017 amendment to the Odisha Municipal Corporation Act gave slum dwellers land rights. Forcing them out is unconstitutional.”

Bhubaneswar mayor Sulochana Das defended the plan while speaking to The Telegraph: “For any developmental project, we can acquire land. In this case, senior citizens requested a garden. Those with land rights will be compensated with land or a house.”

With the rainy season underway, residents fear immediate displacement could leave them vulnerable. For Rout, the fight is personal: “I have given my life to this city. If this is how it repays us, what hope is left for the poor?”