Two revenue officers suspended amid illegal part-plot registration allegations

Bhubaneswar: Two Additional Tehsildars, Gitu Behera and Narayan Sethi, of Bhubaneswar Tehsil in Odisha’s Khurda have been suspended for disciplinary reasons.

According to the Revenue and Disaster Management department’s May 3 notification, the officers have been suspended with immediate effect with disciplinary proceedings being contemplated against them. They have been asked to report at Khurda collectorate during their suspension period and not to leave the headquarters without prior permission of the collector.

The suspensions have sparked discussions, given the officers’ roles in Bhubaneswar, a key area for urban development and land governance.

Last year, the department had issued a notification for submission of specific draft charges for initiating department proceedings against 18 officers, who have registered 100 or more sub plots under the jurisdiction of the development authority.

In February this year, Biswajit Pradhan, the sub-registrar of Khandagiri division, was suspended by the department for alleged irregularities in duty.

A recent report submitted by the Inspector General of Registration (IGR), Board of Revenue to the state Revenue and Disaster Management department revealed that a total 3,36,631 sub-plots were registered in urban areas without the approval of development authorities in their jurisdiction since enactment of the Registration (Odisha Amendment) Act, 2013.

The highest number of such registrations has been made in the Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) jurisdiction with about 39,216 registrations in Khurda in the 12 years.

It also indicated that one ORERA officer, three additional district magistrates (ADMs) and some tehsildars, while serving as the sub-registrars in the past, were also involved in registration of these sub-plots in violation of legal provisions.