Sambalpur MP Nagendra Pradhan has requested Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to issue permanent land patta to all people, who had come to Burla and Hirakud in search of work 50 years ago and have settled since then.
“A good number of people from different parts of the State and the country had come to Burla and Hirakud and were engaged in the Hirakud dam work. But a few of them stayed here even after completion of the dam. While they have been permanently staying for decades constructing pucca houses, they have not yet been given patta for the land,” Pradhan stated in a letter to the Chief Minister.
Pradhan informed the Chief Minister that during the silver jubilee celebration of Hirakud dam in 1982, the then CM JB Patnaik had assured to give patta to them. Subsequently in 1984, the then Sambalpur district Collector told the people that the Revenue Department could not be able to give them patta as the land on which they were staying belonged to the Irrigation (now Water Resources) Department.
Further in 1987, the then Hirakud dam Executive Engineer requested the Government to adopt a policy so as to transfer Irrigation Department land to the Revenue Department. Similarly in 1989, former Congress MlA Dr Sraddhakar Supkar took up the matter with the then Chief Minister JB Patnaik but that also did not work. In 1990, Congress MlA Durga Shankar Patnaik also raised the issue in the State Assembly, but to no avail.
He further informed that people belonging to Burla had resorted to a hunger strike in 1991.The then RDC (ND) livinus Kindo conducted a review meeting in 1992 but couldn’t take any specific decision.
After all these, the Government took a decision to give land on lease basis to the people as issue of patta or transfer of land from Irrigation to Revenue Department was not possible.
Mentioning all these in the letter, Pradhan requested the Chief Minister to take necessary steps to issue patta to such people so that 50 years of uncertainties would be over.