BHUBANESWAR: The State Government has prepared draft amendment to make provisions under the Orissa Prevention of Land Encroachment (OPLE) Act, 1972, more stringent. The draft amendment is done on the lines of laws framed by Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh governments and the proposed amendment suggests collection of hefty rent from unauthorised occupants of Government land till their eviction, Revenue and Disaster Management Minister SN Patro told the Assembly on Tuesday.Replying to an adjournment motion moved by Congress Chief Whip Prasad Harichandan, the Minister said the draft amendment had been sent to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for approval. The Chief Minister has constituted a ministerial committee headed by the Revenue Minister to further examine the draft, Patro said.Information available with the Department said over 2.42 lakh acres of Government land was under illegal occupation. The Government had filed more than 3.26 lakh cases under the OPLE Act out of which over 1.81 lakh cases have been disposed of and 91,734 acres recovered.The special cell set up in the Revenue Department has identified over 12,138 acres of Government land under illegal occupation.Meanwhile, the Department has recovered over 2,658 acres from the encroachers.While 2,823 acres of Government land was under encroachment in Sipasarubali area of Puri district, the Revenue administration has recovered 1,307 acres. For recovery of the remaining 1,516 acres, the State Government has advised the Member Board of Revenue to delegate the authority and power of Consolidation Commissioner to the Puri collector.The Puri collector has been asked to dispose of all the encroachment-related cases in the district in three months.The Minister further informed the Assembly that 2,901 acres and 1,927 acres of Government land were under unauthorised occupation in Cuttack and Jajpur districts. Necessary measures had been initiated to recover the land, he added.Admitting that the Revenue laws, regulating land administration, have become obsolete, the Minister said there was an urgent need to amend the Orissa Land Reforms Act.Responding to Harichandan, the Minister said it would not be appropriate for him to give a statement on irregularities in land acquisition for industries as pointed out by the CAG since the matter has not been discussed by the Public Accounts Committee headed by the Leader of Opposition.While Congress member Anup Sai demanded a white paper on Government land under encroachment, senior BJD member Damodar Rout said all the cases of land grabbing had taken place during the Congress regime.
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