Paradip, July 25: The Paradip Port Trust and the Odisha government have lodged complaints against each other with the police over a plot of land.

The Paradip Municipality was working on erecting a community building for dwellers of Balijhari slum colony, which the port trust opposed. Port trust officials along with Central Industrial Security Force personnel approached the area today in a bid to stop the construction of the building.

The port trust officials claimed that the plot of land where construction was going on belonged to the trust and described the municipality’s project as “unlawful”.

However, the port officials retreated from the area when the slum dwellers started to protest.

Jagatsinghpur collector Satya Kumar Mallick told The Telegraph: “The land where the municipality was carrying out construction does not belong to the Paradip Port Trust. It is owned by Kujang tehsil. The port has no business interfering with the construction.”

“We have lodged a complaint with the police as the port authority tried to stop a government agency from discharging its duty. It is an arbitrary and illogical move on part of the Paradip Port Trust to stop a public utility project like a community hall for slum dwellers,” Mallick added.