Orissa HC Seeks Status Report On Puri’s Bagala Dharmasala Land From State Govt

Cuttack: The Orissa High Court has sought a status report on the land of Bagala Dharmasala in Puri town from the state government by September 23.

The High Court issued the order after hearing a fresh PIL filed by Jagannath Bastia, a resident of Puri, on Monday. The petitioner had sought the court’s stay on the district administration’s decision on transferring a part of the land to six more lodge owners.

The two-judge bench of Chief Justice S Muralidhar and Justice BP Routray did not grant the stay after hearing the PIL but asked the government to file the status report through affidavit before the date of next hearing on September 23.

The petition was filed against the district collector’s decision to allocate 1.93 acre land of the Bagala Dharmasala to six more lodging owners. The petitioner alleged that the buyers of the Dharmasala land in connivance with the district administration had demolished its main entrance to construct lodgings for commercial purpose.

Earlier, Bastia had filed a PIL in December, 2019 challenging the sale of 340 decimal of 2.5 acre land of the Dharmasala to the lodge owners evicted under heritage project.