Five Old Town Residents Give Up Lands For EKAMRA Development Plan

Bhubaneswar: Five residents of the Old Town area here have vacated their lands ,adjoining the 11th century Lingaraj Temple, for the Rs 700-crore Ekamra Kshetra Amenities and Monuments Revival Action (EKAMRA) Plan.

Bhagabat Mallick, Pratap Nanda, Pradeep Nanda, Naliniprabha Mohanty and Swarnamayee Samal signed the agreements in presence of Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) Commissioner Prem Chandra Chaudhary, additional commissioner Abanikanta Patnaik and Deputy Commissioner Kamaljit Das to vacate the land on Tuesday.

“Since they signed the agreements before the February 26 deadline, they will eligible for 10 per cent more incentive than the market price of their land and property,” Chaudhury said.

Notably, 31 persons have already given their consent to vacate lands for the plan to revive and preserve the heritage value and grandeur of Lingaraj Temple and its surroundings.

All the residential units having clear title of land are being acquired through direct purchase method prescribed by the State Government and compensation paid in accordance with the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.

To streamline the process of getting consent and possession from people, the state government has formed three teams with officials and staff of Revenue, Housing and Urban Development department, Works, Endowment and Odia Language and Culture department, sources said.