Land worth Rs 1 lakh cr may come back to govt

Land valued at Rs 1 lakh crore may come back under government control if the latest State Cabinet decision on taking back un-utilised land is implemented.

“There are huge tracts of land lying unused in Bhubaneswar area and the districts of Khurda, Puri and Jajpur. The valuation of these lands is estimated at Rs 1 lakh crore,” said minister for revenue & disaster management S N Patro. At the Chandaka industrial estate on the city’s outskirts, 780 acres of land leased out by government for different industrial projects is lying unused. The government would issue showcause notices to all developers sitting on un-utilised land and then take back the leased land if their responses are found to be unsatisfactory. Land leased out for any project will now go back to the government if it remains un-utilized for three years, as per a decision taken by the State Cabinet — a move aimed at weeding out non-serious developers. While the industry has hailed the government’s decision to cancel land leases of non-serious players, it has emphasized on expediting the clearances and regulatory approvals needed to push ahead project execution.