The demolished house of councillor Mahamaya Swain in Bhubaneswar. Picture by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, Sept. 8: The house of councillor Mahamaya Swain at Bhimpur mouza of the city was demolished for allegedly encroaching on road and adjacent government land.

The demolition of Mahamaya’s house was part of an ongoing drive conducted by the general administration department, the Bhubaneswar Development Authority, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation and the police acting on the basis of an Orissa High Court order issued on July 21.

The demolition of the councillor’s illegal structure in ward No. 47 began yesterday. The councillor had allegedly encroached on part of road and the adjacent government land measuring about 82 decimals.

An advocate, who had been facing problems because of the encroachment, filed a case with the development authority in 2006 alleging violation of the Orissa Development Authority (ODA) Act. The authority issued a demolition order on November 13 the same year. But, the order No. 324/2006 was never executed.

After that the advocate moved Orissa High Court and made the general administration department, the corporation, the development authority and the encroacher parties in the case. The court issued an order on July 21 asking the chief secretary to ensure the demolition by August 31. When the government sought more time as it had received the order late, the court asked the departments concerned to execute the same while asking the development authority to coordinate the process. The officials were also asked to file a compliance order by September 9.

A senior official of the administration department said the encroached government land measured 82 decimals. “It was not only a case of the ODA Act violation, but also the encroacher had constructed the house on government land. We have executed the court order and hope to file compliance by the specific date. If need be, we may seek more time,” he said.

Mahamaya, who belongs to the BJD, was not available for comments. However, her husband Gayadhar Swain, a businessman, said the land had been in their possession since 1967 and there was no encroachment. He said the violation of the ODA Act was the only reason why the structure was demolished.

“I could not get the court order as my advocate did not cooperate with me. Had we got the order at the right time, we could have done something,” he said, while alleging that even as thousands of cases of the ODA Act violation remained pending, the development authority was sparing the high and the mighty.

The demolition triggered tension in the area where police have been deployed. Local residents refused to comment on the encroachment issue. They admitted that it was a welcome step on part of the local administration.

The development authority sources said that though more than 18,000 cases of the ODA Act violation had been pending since 1982, action was taken in 216 cases. While lack of manpower is the major reason behind the situation, the authority is likely to form a special squad with retired police officials to carry out order in such cases.

It can be noted here that the administration department has started the process of recovering land from many parts of the city. For example, the department is planning to recover land from landowners along the road from Sishu Bhavan Square to Ekamra Square at Forest Park, so that the road expansion work becomes easier. “The allottees were given permissive possession to have plantation work, but many are using the land illegally and extended their houses. Now, we are going to get the land back to facilitate growth,” the senior GAD official added.