Odisha issues notice to colleges for land grab

The Odisha government has issued notice to 25 engineering and management institutes for encroaching upon government land, an official said Sunday.

The Employment and Technical Education and Training (ET&T) department asked the institutes to give reply within 15 days of submission of the notice, which was issued Saturday, a senior ET&T official told IANS.

"The revenue and disaster management department have reported that you have not converted the agricultural land for non-agricultural purpose in violation to the Odisha Land Reforms Act and have encroached the government land," said the notice.

It added: "By encroaching the government land, you have not only violated the revenue laws of the state but also obtained approval of AICTE (All India Council for Technical Education) by misrepresenting the facts and submitting false affidavits before the council as regards status of land of your institutions."

The institutes include Kalinga Institute of Technology, Rajdhani Engineering and Technology, Mahavir Institute of Engineering and Technology, Gandhi Institute for Technology and Asian School of Business Management.