The eviction drive around the Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri has taken an interesting turn as the land Acquisition Officer (lAO) reportedly violated an order of the Odisha High Court and filed a false affidavit in this connection.
As per the order of High Court on May 27 the lAO was supposed to evict the buildings and shops around the temple and acquire the land under Section 15(2) (objection & grievance) and Section 19(1) (final decision of land acquisition) land Acquisition Act.
The order came after the lAO appealed to the Endowment Commissioner on February 28 to acquire land by paying compensation to land owners.
However, the Commissioner had instructed to acquire under the land Acquisition Act. The lAO also in an affidavit stated that the demolition process was carried out under the Act.
On the order hand, the lAO has issued a notification on August 7 asking the owners of Gopinath Bhawan to hand over the land for cash else legal action would be initiated against them after August 15.
Amit Das, the counsel of Gopinath Bhawan, alleged that the lAO is threatening people through the notification.