Special Courts to dispose of cases
The Cabinet Sub-Committee led by Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Bijoyshree Routray would give final touch to the draft Odisha land Grabbing Prohibition Bill in next 15 days.
The Bill will have the provision for establishment of special courts to hear all land grab cases, said Urban Development Minister Pushpendra Singh Deo.
In the wake of the alleged mega land scam, the State Government had constituted a five-member Cabinet sub-committee, comprising Revenue
Minister Bijoyshree Routray, Forest and Environment Minister Bikram Keshari Arukh, Industry Minister Debi Prasad Mishra, law Minister Arun Kumar Sahu and Housing and Urban Development Minister Singh Deo to prepare a legal instrument to curb the menace of illegal land grabbing.
Talking to newsmen, Minister Singh Deo said that a Cabinet sub-committee meeting on Wednesday discussed the present land grab issue and possible provisions of the proposed Odisha land Grabbing Prohibition legislation.
Stating that it was decided to finalise the draft legislation within a fortnight, he said that the draft would be sent to the law department scrutiny before it was placed in the Cabinet. The draft after the
Cabinet approval would be introduced in the State Assembly for consideration and passing in the next session.
Singh Deo said that the proposed Bill would be modeled on similar land encroachment prevention laws prevalent in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. He said that the draft legislation would be made to replace the existing Odisha Prevention of land Encroachment Act, 1992 and the OPlE Rules 1985.
He indicated that two separate Bills would be prepared with the one for the urban areas and the other for the rural areas.
On the provisions of the proposed Bills, the Minister said that anybody or institution found guilty of land grabbing would be punished with seven years’ imprisonment, besides fines. There would be special courts to hear all the related land scam cases, he said.