Cuttack, April 8: Another PIL was filed in Orissa High Court after over five years seeking intervention against encroachment on the Swargadwar crematorium in Puri.

In December 2011, a PIL had been filed, alleging encroachment and illegal constructions on the crematorium land. While the PIL had been pending before the court, the petitioner made fresh allegations in 2013 that 70 per cent of the one-acre land allotted to the Puri Municipality for the crematorium was being used for other purposes. The petition has since been languishing almost without any hearing. "The PIL is still pending disposal," said advocate Nishikanta Mishra, who had filed the PIL.

The fresh PIL was filed on yesterday, three days after the Puri Municipality had started an eviction drive on the Swargadwar site. Cuttack resident Abhisek Das filed the PIL, seeking intervention to evict squatters from the Swargadwar land and direction for action against erring officers, who had facilitated the land grab process.

The eviction followed a probe by a nine-member team, headed by Puri collector, on the Swargadwar site, where encroachers had allegedly occupied nearly 15 acres. The crematorium, which had 16.04 acres, shrunk to one acre.

Revenue divisional commissioner (central) A.B. Ota had ordered inquiry into the alleged land grab. The probe team, which had submitted an interim report, is expected to come up with the final report shortly.

The new PIL sought the court's intervention, citing that Swargadwar was a sacrosanct site - a sacred place for cremation.

The petition pointed out that though the Swargadwar land was the property of Lord Jagannath of Puri temple and rules prohibited sale or transfer of such land, many persons fraudulently gained ownership of them in connivance with government officials. In the process, hotels, lodgings and shops had come up around the site. The petition is expected to be taken up next week.

Official sources said the nine-member team's inquiry had stumbled upon illegal land transaction involving the crematorium land in 65 cases and records indicated involvement of revenue officials, land owners and agents.

Demanding a CBI probe into the Swargadwar land encroachment case Congress workers had staged a protest rally before the Puri district collector's office on March 29. They demanded that all encroached land be restored. The Swargadwar land grab case had also figured in the Assembly during its recent budget session.