OAS Officer Donates Parental Land To 30 Families In Odisha’s Rayagada

Koraput: More than 30 years after his father donated 3,000 sq feet to 30 landless families in Odisha’s Rayagada district, a senior OAS officer ensured their rights over the land by handing over the record of rights (RoR) to them.

According to sources, father of Maheswar Naik, who is currently posted as additional district magistrate in Malkangiri, was moved by the plight of these families, belonging to scheduled caste and scheduled tribe, and donated at least 900 square feet to each of them in the early 90s. Subsequently, they constructed houses and have been staying there for over 30 years. However, ownership of the land worth over Rs 7 lakh at Dongasil village under Kashipur block continued to remain with his family.

“These 30 families were facing problems since they did not hold the land rights. Therefore, I decided to hand over the land documents to them,” Naik told TOI.