Cuttack, Feb. 4: A PIL filed in Orissa High Court by four former Odisha Administrative Service officers who have experience in revenue administration has pointed out “discrepancies” in the Odisha Special Survey and Settlement Act, 2012, and sought quashing of the law.

The apparent glitches in the new system that provides for undertaking survey and settlement operations by adopting modern technology has come into focus through the PIL filed by four former OAS officers – Giridhari Das, 83, Dwijabar Kanungo, 76, Bharat Charan Swain, 78, and Jyoti Prakash Das, 62.

The petitioners have sought judicial intervention against enforcement of the new Act on the ground that the Orissa Survey and Settlement Act, 1958, is still in operation.

The Odisha Special Survey and Settlement Act, 2012, came into effect from July 12, 2012. It is liable to be struck down as two Acts cannot operate simultaneously and concurrently either at one place or at different places for the same subject or to achieve the same object.

The PIL has called for attention to several inconsistencies in the new Act. The petitioners feel these discrepancies would not serve the interest of the landowners and would also not be cost-effective for the government. “In the new Act, there is not a single word on the procedure to be followed in the boundary change proceedings,” the petition points out.