Odisha government addresses land disputes and digitizes Bhoodan records

The Odisha government is taking significant steps to resolve long-standing land ownership and record-keeping issues. The Board of Revenue has cancelled private revenue records for approximately five acres of land on the Kuakhai riverbed in Bhubaneswar, ending a 44-year dispute. The land, valued at over Rs 100 crore, has been directed to be recorded under the General Administration Department after investigations showed the area was historically classified as uncultivated river land.

In a separate administrative move, the state has temporarily frozen the registration and mutation of Bhoodan land. This freeze is part of a time-bound initiative to create a centralized digital database for Bhoodan and Gramdan lands. The Revenue and Disaster Management department aims to reconcile historical records with existing Records of Rights to protect undistributed land and resolve legal complications affecting landless beneficiaries.