SC-formed committee takes over management of Barabati Palace

As per the direction of the Supreme Court, a three-member committee headed by Cuttack District Collector today took over the management of the properties that stand on the controversial land adjacent to Barababti stadium here.
The Odisha Olympic Association (OOA) had illegally constructed a sprawling marriage mandap called Barabati Palace and 23 shops encroaching upon this government land and started collecting rents from the tenants for over a decade now.
The State Government had leased only 20 acres of land to OOA in 1949 for the purpose of the stadium but the Association in 1984 encroached upon an additional two acres of prime land adjacent to the stadium and constructed a market complex over it.

The OOA secretary Asirbad Behera and his family allegedly enjoyed the property as their fiefdom after a lower court here allowed the OOA to claim right, title and interest over the impugned land.
This was, however, nullified by the Orissa High Court last year following which the OOA had challenged the High Court order in Supreme Court through a special leave petition.
In an interim order, the apex court on Thursday had dismissed the stand taken by the OOA observing that a lessee cannot set forth a plea of adverse possession and had directed the Committee to take possession of the property by Sunday.

"We took over the management of the marriage mandap and the 23 shops over this land and would make a public notification soon so that the interested parties wishing to utilise these facilities shall approach the Committee henceforth," Cuttack ADM Laxmidhar Mohanty said.
He said the Committee would soon open a bank account for this purpose and the tenants shall make the payments through bank drafts.