As part of the much-belated drive to recover Government land from the grabbers, the State Government has taken possession of four acres of encroached land under Dharmasala tehsil in Jajpur district.
According to reports, a team of Revenue Department officials led by Dharmasala Tehsildar Ranjan Kumar Jena and Revenue Inspector of Balarampur-II tehsil Bira Kishore Maharana on Monday went to Anjira village to take possession of 75 acres of encroached land.
The team, with the help of the villagers, took possession of four acres of land after uprooting the cashew trees planted on it. The land was encroached by one Baya Sahu, a close associate of senior BJD leader and Rajya Sabha member Kalpataru Das.
The eviction drive would be intensified further to take possession of the remaining 71 acres, the Revenue officials told mediapersons.
It may be mentioned that Revenue Secretary Taradatt, during his surprise tour to the district on Sunday, had directed the district revenue officials to take possession of all encroached Government land under Dharmasala tehsil. He had also directed them to demolish the house of Baya Sahu, who has illegally constructed the house on Government land.