Orissa High Court

Paradip, Dec. 20: The Jagatsinghpur district administration has served notices on occupiers of 900 acres of landed property, owned by Lord Jagannath, directing them either to vacate the area or buy it by paying premium.

The land reclamation drive is under way to reclaim over thousand acres owned by Lord Jagannath.

“The tenants have been given the opportunity to transfer the land in their favour. If they fail do so, the occupied land has to be vacated,” said Jagatsinghpur collector Satya Kumar Mallick. The district accounts for both homestead and agriculture land. The occupiers have been reaping economic benefits for years, and the Puri Jagannath temple has got nothing from them.

“The land disposal drive has got under way, while 1,116 acres have been identified in various parts of the district with its original ownership vested with Lord Jagannath. However, notice service has been served on occupiers of 900 acres,” he said.

“If the occupiers are not interested to alienate the land in their favour with premium payment, there would be commercial transfer of the occupied land to private ownership. Land diversion would be taken up through public auction and highest bidder would be the new title holder of the land,” he said.

The administration would handover the sum accrued from the land disposal to the Puri Jagannath temple administration.

The land disposal would be hassle free as we have received many applications, who have volunteered to buy the land by paying the price fixed by the temple administration, said an official.

Officials believe that the majority of applicants would legalise the ownership by entering into registered sale deed with the administration.

Sizeable chunk of land, owned by Lord Jagannath, in the district has been either under encroachment or unlawfully alienated to private ownership. These facts are beginning to come to the fore in the wake of a drive launched by the Jagannath temple administration for reclamation of the land.