The Odisha Legislative Assembly on Tuesday passed the demand for grants of ₹2,271 crore 33.48 lakh for the Revenue and Disaster Management Department for the financial year 2026-27.
Opposition parties BJD and Congress largely boycotted the discussion, with only suspended Congress MLA Sofia Firdous participating in the debate.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Mukesh Mahaling responded on behalf of Revenue Minister Suresh Pujari, criticizing the previous BJD government for neglecting the issues faced by the poor and emphasizing the significant changes implemented in the revenue department since the new government took office.
The government has achieved a major success by amending land records that had caused issues for decades, reducing land categories from over 7,000 to just 22. Reforms to outdated British-era laws have been introduced to ensure good governance directly for the people.
Key initiatives include the complete digitization of land records and their integration with all sub-registrar offices. The new ‘Naksha’ scheme, aimed at creating accurate and modern land records in urban areas, is currently operational in four municipalities: Khordha, Jatni, Baripada, and Jharsuguda.
The Chief Minister also launched the ‘e-Registration Odisha’ mobile app for digital governance, which has already facilitated 60,871 registrations, providing online slot booking, Encumbrance Certificates (EC), and certified copies of documents in a transparent and efficient manner.
Under the ‘Swamitva’ scheme in rural areas, 3,596 individuals have received valid land records. The government has notified 946 new revenue villages, in contrast to the mere 1,075 villages notified over the 32 years from 1992 to 2023.
Efforts are underway to remove deceased individuals’ names from land pattas and replace them with living heirs, with 46,96,371 out of 51,01,905 khatas surveyed fully amended.
The Odisha Survey and Settlement (Amendment) Rules, 2025, now empower Tehsildars and Additional Tehsildars to amend land records based on pre-settlement registered sale deeds, a historic reform expected to expedite the resolution of numerous long-standing land cases.
In terms of disaster management, 27 multipurpose cyclone shelters have been constructed, and the installation of 434 automatic weather stations and 6,624 automatic rain gauges is ongoing. Unseasonal rainfall has been classified as a natural disaster eligible for SDRF assistance.
Information technology is being extensively utilized for land acquisition and management of government land, and a new rehabilitation scheme with a ₹90 crore provision has been launched for the Nolia family in Golabandha, Ganjam district.
Several BJP MLAs, including Irasis Acharya, Manoranjan Dyan Samantara, Purna Chandra Sethi, Bijay Dalbehera, Prakash Sethi, Bhadab Hansda, Bibhuti Bhushan Pradhan, Raghunath Jagdala, and Pratap Chandra Nayak, participated in the discussion, commending the government’s people-friendly schemes. The demand was passed following the minister’s reply.
