Bhubaneswar, Nov 28: More than 53,480 acres of Odisha government land remain encroached across the state. This was informed by Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari in the Assembly on Thursday in response to a query by BJD MLA Arun Kumar Sahoo.
"In accordance with the Odisha Prevention of Land Encroachment (OPLE) Act, 1972, the removal of encroachments on government land is an ongoing process," the Minister said.
The revenue and disaster management department had issued instructions to the collectors of all 30 districts in July and September to remove encroachments on government land, he added.
"According to data from different districts, out of 1,08,773 acres of encroached government land, 55,293 acres have been cleared and 53,480 acres of government land are still under encroachment," Pujari informed the House.
The state government is taking appropriate steps at the district level as per the provisions of the OPLE Act, 1972, and the Rules of 1985, to clear the encroached lands, he added.
