Phulbani, January 15 (Correspondent): A strong demand has been raised to immediately stop the ongoing eviction drive against alleged encroachment on government land in Phulbani town of Kandhamal district, while simultaneously providing permanent house-site (homestead) pattas to more than a hundred families who have been living on such land for several decades. A delegation from the Kandhamal People's Forum (KPF) today met Odisha's Chief Secretary, Smt. Anu Garg, during her official visit to Phulbani and handed over a detailed memorandum pressing these long-pending demands.
The Chief Secretary is widely expected to ensure justice for all affected families. KPF leaders expressed full confidence that fair and humane consideration would be given to the genuine grievances of the poor residents. Kandhamal district, predominantly a tribal and hilly region, has been grappling with chronic land-related issues for many years. In Phulbani municipality area, scores of economically weaker families—mostly daily-wage labourers, small vendors and members of Scheduled Tribe and Scheduled Caste communities—have constructed kutcha and semi-pucca houses on pieces of government land over the past 20–35 years. These families claim they had no alternative place to live due to landlessness and extreme poverty. Over time, they developed the plots, constructed houses, dug wells in some cases, and raised children who now consider these places their only home. However, in recent months the district administration has intensified identification and eviction proceedings against structures built on government land (mostly Gochar, Anabadi, Khasmahal and other categories), leading to widespread anxiety and fear among the residents. Many families now face the threat of sudden demolition and homelessness.
The Kandhamal People's Forum (KPF), a local rights-based organisation working among tribal and marginalised communities, has been consistently raising this issue through protests, dharnas and representations. Today’s submission of the memorandum directly to the Chief Secretary during her two-day visit to the district is seen as a significant escalation of the campaign. Smt. Anu Garg, who assumed charge as the first woman Chief Secretary of Odisha on January 1, 2026, arrived in Kandhamal to review key developmental projects, tourism potential, irrigation schemes, and law & order situation. After inspecting water supply projects in Boudh district, she held a high-level review meeting in Phulbani, attended by the Collector, SP, senior officials of various departments and public representatives.
Taking advantage of her presence, a KPF delegation led by its senior functionaries met the Chief Secretary and submitted the memorandum. The document highlights the following key points:
- More than 100 families in different wards and pockets of Phulbani town have been residing on government land for 20–35 years.
- Most of these families belong to economically backward sections; many are landless tribal households.
- Abrupt eviction without providing any alternative housing or pattas will render them shelterless and push them deeper into poverty.
- The state government has, in the past, regularised long-standing occupation of government land in several districts under various land settlement schemes.
- Similar humanitarian and legal relief should be extended to the genuine residents of Phulbani town who have nowhere else to go.
KPF leaders stated after the meeting: “We explained the complete background of each affected pocket. Madam Chief Secretary listened patiently and assured that the matter would be examined at the appropriate level. We are hopeful that under her leadership the state government will take a compassionate and just decision so that poor families are not rendered homeless in the name of encroachment removal.” A resident of one of the affected colonies said emotionally: “We have lived here for three decades. Our children were born here, studied here. If bulldozers come now, where will we go with our small children and elderly parents? The visit of the Chief Secretary has given us new hope.” Political leaders across party lines in Kandhamal have also voiced support for finding an amicable solution rather than large-scale eviction without rehabilitation. Official sources indicated that the memorandum would be forwarded to the Revenue & Disaster Management Department and the district administration for detailed verification of each case. Odisha’s land laws do provide provisions for regularisation of long-term occupation in certain categories, although implementation varies from district to district and depends on field verification. The development has once again brought the larger issue of land reforms, homestead provision for landless families, and balancing urban encroachment removal with social justice into sharp focus in Kandhamal. Whether the state government announces any concrete relief measure in the coming weeks will be closely watched by thousands of poor households in Phulbani and across the district.