1,707 illegal religious structures removed in State: Odisha government tells HC

CUTTACK: The State government has informed the Orissa High Court that 90 unauthorised constructions of religious nature on public land have been dealt with during the last four months.

The Court was taking stock of the present status of unauthorised religious structures in the State on Wednesday, December 8, 2021, as part of a case registered suo motu on February 24. The government had earlier submitted an affidavit when the court had taken stock of the status of unauthorised constructions of religious nature in the State on August 4.

The State government had informed that by July 30, out of the total 18,460 unauthorised constructions, 1,707 religious structures have been removed, 508 relocated and 10,812 regularised. It informed that since July 30, another 90 unauthorised religious structures were either removed, relocated or regularised. 

The remaining 5,343 such structures are left to undergo the process. In instances where encroachments by unauthorised structures of religious nature did not cause traffic, public nuisance or inconvenience, their regularisation was being processed.

Taking note of the affidavit, a two-member judge bench of Chief Justice S Muralidhar and Justice AK Mohapatra directed the State government to submit an updated status report on the action taken to deal with the remaining unauthorised constructions when the matter is taken up for hearing next on April 11, 2022.

The court had registered the case with cause title ‘Removal of unauthorised religious structures on public land’ in pursuance of an order issued by the Supreme Court on January 31, 2018.