: Tuesday, July 14, 2026 07:25 AM
Bhubaneswar. The Odisha government has issued comprehensive instructions to all revenue officers of the state, giving top priority to the protection, maintenance and better management of Lord Shri Jagannath lands. The government has asked to take time bound action for the conservation and legal management of the temple land. Dr. Arvind Padhi, Additional Chief Secretary, Revenue and Disaster Management Department, has written a letter to the Revenue Board, all Revenue Divisional Commissioners, District Collectors and the Directorate of Land Records and Survey, instructing them to take immediate action on the matters related to the properties of Lord Jagannath. Dr Padhi said that the identity of Odisha is deeply linked to Lord Shri Jagannath and it is the moral responsibility of the state to protect his properties. He directed all revenue officials to act strictly as per the law, government guidelines and court orders sent by the Shri Jagannath Temple Administration.
The Revenue Department has directed officials to quickly dispose of 11,675 pending revenue cases filed by the Shri Jagannath Temple Administration in various tehsils. These cases belong to Khurda, Puri, Jagatsinghpur, Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Ganjam, Cuttack and Kendrapara districts.
Further, directions have been given to immediately implement the orders of the Board of Revenue in 257 cases filed under Section 7(A) of the Odisha Estates Abolition Act.
To keep the land records correct, officials have been instructed to check the old rights records if necessary. Its objective is to improve the Khevat entries and register the donated properties of the temple as per law.
The instructions also said that the certified documents including the report establishing the relationship between the old settlement records and the present records should be made available to the Shri Jagannath Temple Administration at the earliest, so that the cases pending before the Revenue Board can be effectively disposed of.
Revenue Inspectors, Amins and experienced regional officers will be deployed for identification, verification and protection of Lord Jagannath lands. Instructions have also been given to conduct regular inspections to prevent illegal occupation, unauthorized use, fake claims and attempts to create personal interest on temple properties.
The Revenue Department has directed all the officials that the matters related to the land of Lord Jagannath should be taken up on top priority. The progress of these cases will be reviewed in monthly revenue meetings held at the district, sub-division and tehsil level. Besides, it has been asked to send the status report every month to the Revenue and Disaster Management Department.
The State Government has directed all district administrations to take proactive steps to ensure conservation, protection and legal management of Lord Shri Jagannath lands and to reduce unnecessary litigation.
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Web Title-Odisha: State Government Issues Statewide Directives to Protect Lord Jagannath Lands