BHUBANESWAR: Worried over large scale encroachment of government land in different parts of the State, the Government on Wednesday announced in the Assembly that it would soon bring a new legislation to curb the menace. “We have already prepared a draft legislation to deal with land encroachment problem. The new legislation will be made on the lines of similar laws adopted by governments of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka,” Revenue Minister Surya Narayan Patro said in reply to a question. Stating that collectors of different districts had been directed to free government land under encroachment of private persons, the Minister said Orissa Prevention of Land Encroachment (OPLE) Act, 1972, and OPLE Rules, 1985, were being implemented for freeing government land. The State Government had identified encroached land in all the 30 districts. “A total of 2.42 lakh acres of government land was encroached upon across the State,” the Minister said. Surprisingly, about 441.379 acres of valuable land under the General Administration Department in the State capital was also encroached, Patro said, adding 10,361 cases were filed under OPLE Act. He, however, claimed that the Government was freeing 91,726 acres of land from the encroachers. “The new legislation will help free government land under encroachment,” he said.
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