44-Year Kuakhai Riverbed Land Dispute: Board of Revenue Cancels Private Records

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Bhubaneswar: Bringing the curtains down on a 44-year-old dispute, the Odisha Board of Revenue has cancelled private revenue records relating to nearly five acres of land on the Kuakhai riverbed in Bhubaneswar of Odisha. The land is currently estimated to be worth more than Rs 100 crore.

The Bhubaneswar Tahasildar has been directed to record the land in the name of the General Administration Department.

Board of Revenue Member Satyabrata Sahoo passed the order while deciding a revision case filed by the General Administration Department. The Board examined old and current revenue records, settlement documents, sale deeds, maps, field inspection reports and other relevant records.

The key question in the case was: how did land classified as part of the Kuakhai riverbed come to be recorded in private names?

Old records showed the nearly five-acre parcel as ‘anabadi’ (uncultivated) with a kisam of ‘nadi’ (river). After the abolition of the erstwhile zamindari system, the land had vested in the State Government under the Odisha Estates Abolition Act.

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The private claim was based on a 1944 lease deed and subsequent sale deeds. However, no valid government order or approval was produced to establish the continuation of private rights after the land vested in the State.

The Tahasildar’s field inspection report also indicated that the disputed land is affected by the Kuakhai River, supporting its earlier classification as ‘nadi’.

The Board observed that mere entry of a person’s name in revenue records, mutation or registration of a sale deed does not create ownership rights. A purchaser cannot get more rights than the seller legally possesses.

After considering all records and arguments, the Board cancelled the private revenue entries relating to the disputed land.

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