Kataka: The Orissa High Court has ruled that landowners seeking demarcation under the Odisha Survey and Settlement Rules, 1962 cannot be compelled to apply online or pay Rs 800 per plot as user charges.
Justice Sashikanta Mishra held that the state government notifications prescribing online demarcation and the higher user charges can operate only as an alternative system for applicants who voluntarily opt for it.
The court passed the order on Thursday while hearing a petition filed by Sri Gadagadeswar Mahadev Bije, a deity, represented by its trustee. The court also appointed senior advocate Ramakanta Mohanty as amicus curiae.
The deity is the recorded tenant of 11 plots measuring about 2.6 acres adjacent to Gadagadia temple on the bank of the Mahanadi at Killa Maidan in Kataka.
The trustee claimed that parts of the deity’s land had been encroached upon and the Kataka Municipal Corporation had constructed a road over a portion of the property without acquisition. Government agencies and other organisations also allegedly use parts of the land for meetings without paying anything to the deity, while the annual Balijatra is organised over a portion of the land.
The trustee sought demarcation to protect and recover the property. However, the tehsildar of Kataka Sadar refused to accept the application offline, insisting on online filing. The online system, the petitioner said, required separate applications and payment of Rs 800 for each plot.
The petitioner contended that Rule 38 of the OSS Rules prescribed a fee of only Rs 4 per plot and had not been amended.
After examining the rules and notifications, Justice Mishra said the tehsildar committed an illegality by refusing to accept the offline application and insisting on Rs 800 for each plot. He directed the tehsildar to accept the deity’s offline application on payment of the prescribed fee and complete demarcation within four weeks.
The judge also directed the state government to modify its online portal to permit a single application covering multiple plots under one account number.
