Govt diverts cremation land for bus stand, draws HC flak
- Cuttack: The Orissa high court deplored the state authorities for diverting cremation ground land for commercial purposes at Gopa in Puri district.
- The alienation of land in Favour of the commerce and transport department to build a bus stand-cummarket complex reduced the cremation ground area to below 1 acre from the original 1.32 acre.
- Prabodha Kumar Senapati and nine other residents of the area filed the petition. Advocate Suryakanta Dash argued on behalf of the petitioners.
- "It transpires that in the name of development the government is seeking to alienate vacant land earmarked for communal purpose citing judgment of the Supreme Court and reporting compliance of exchange but, the land offered in exchange was encumbered and occupied. As a result, land for communal purposes therefore disappearing," the two-judge bench of Justice Arindam Sinha and Justice SK Mishra observed in their February 10 order.
- Accordingly, the bench directed for restoration of cremation ground land to its original area of 1.32 acres in the revenue records and ensure access of communal users.
- Till the restoration process is completed, status quo should be maintained on the entire cremation ground land, the order said.
- The tehsildar of Gopa submitted that the gram panchayat by a resolution stated that the land had completely lost its characteristics. It has not been used as cremation place for the last 100 years and there is no sign of any cremation structure existing over it.
- However, the bench observed: "We have not been shown any contemporaneous- us or immediately preceding evidence, for the tehsildar to have found that the samson land has lost its character since long and not been used for the purpose".
- The tehsildar had claimed that for local development, the panchayat had no objection against de-reserving the sampan land for eventual alienation in Favour of the road transport and commerce department, to develop bus stand-cum-market complex.