Orissa High Court lens on demolition near Lingaraj temple

CUTTACK: Removal of structures from land identified for development and beautification work around the 11th century Lingaraj temple has come under judicial scrutiny with the Orissa High Court issuing notices to the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) on the issue.

The Single Judge Bench of Justice KR Mohapatra issued the notices to BMC on Monday in response to a petition alleging forcible demolition of structures on a private land. The petitioner - Ranjita Sathia alleged that the BMC had forcibly demolished the gate, boundary wall and front portion of his  residence by issuing an undated notice with regard to purchase of the residential house for development and beautification of areas surrounding the Lingaraj temple. 

The notice had invoked the provisions of Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.The petitioner alleged that the BMC had not followed the provisions of the Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 and the guidelines for purchase of private land for social / infrastructure projects. 

The guidelines state that no private land shall be acquired forcibly and no coercive method be adopted for possession of the land. The guidelines provide for bilateral negotiation.Hence, the undated notice should be set aside as it is not in consonance with the Act and the guidelines, the petitioner said.

Taking this into consideration, Justice Mohapatra issued the notice and fixed the week commencing from November 2 for hearing on the matter along with the response from BMC.As an interim measure, no demolition will be carried out on the land till the next date of hearing. “But the authorities are at liberty to take action with regard to purchase / acquisition of land in accordance with law”, Justice Mohapatra said.