Bhubaneswar: In a major step toward safeguarding public assets, the Odisha Board of Revenue has ordered the cancellation of a 37-year-old order regarding a high-value land dispute near the world-famous Sun Temple at Konark.
More than 11 acres of prime land in Konark Mouza, estimated to be worth over ₹110 crore, directly opposite the UNESCO World Heritage Site will now be officially restored to government ownership following the ruling by Board Member Satyabrata Sahu.
The ruling followed two revision petitions filed by the Puri Collector in November 2025 after securing formal approval from the state government. The petitions challenged a 1989 order by the Commissioner of Land Records and Settlement, which had previously recorded portions of the land in the names of private individuals (Bhajani Rout and Laxmidhar Sahu) based on unregistered, hand-written documents (hathopata) reportedly granted decades earlier by a former local zamindar.
Over the years, doubts grew over the authenticity of those documents, the legitimacy of the ownership claims, and the process by which public land had entered private records.
Hearings began in January, during which the Board examined historical revenue records, decades-old documents, occupancy claims and survey maps. A key question before the Board was whether long-term physical possession, regular payment of land revenue or the appearance of a name in administrative records could by themselves establish legal title.
The Board held that revenue entries and possession are administrative tools and do not amount to absolute proof of ownership. Without a valid underlying legal title, such entries cannot convert public property into private holdings. On that basis, the Board quashed the 1989 settlement order in full.
Settlement authorities have been directed to examine past and present revenue records, verify boundaries against survey maps and determine the precise extent of the land so that all entries can be corrected in accordance with law. The order also stresses the need to safeguard public infrastructure, instructing officials to protect government roads and thoroughfares lying within the disputed area.
The decision forms part of a wider push by the Board of Revenue to reclaim government and institutional land across Odisha.
In recent months the Board has restored dozens of acres of Shree Jagannath Temple property and other state assets after finding that old leases, mutations or private recordings lacked proper legal foundation, repeatedly underscoring that mere possession or revenue entries do not create ownership rights over public land.
Local authorities are now expected to begin field verifications and complete the formal correction of records, returning the Konark land fully to government ownership. The ruling is seen as an important step in preventing encroachment and securing the surroundings of Odisha’s key tourism and cultural sites.
