Over 12,000 acres allotted for industry between 1981 and 2021 remain unutilised in Odisha: CAG

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Odisha Government Land Settlement (OGLS) Act, 1983, and the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (RFCTLARR) Act, 2013, stipulated that leased or acquired land must be utilised within three and five years, respectively. | Photo Credit: Biswaranjan Rout

The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has found that large tracts of land allotted to industries and other organisations in Odisha between 1981 and 2021 were either left unutilised or diverted for purposes other than those for which they were originally allocated. It also flagged several instances of encroachment on government land, including by educational institutions.

The Odisha Government Land Settlement (OGLS) Act, 1983, and the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (RFCTLARR) Act, 2013, stipulated that leased or acquired land must be utilised within three and five years, respectively.

“Lease deeds executed between the collectors and the allottees did not provide a specific period for utilisation of land. In all, 12,393.651 acres of land allotted during 1981-2021, for establishment of industries and allied activities, had not been utilised for the intended purposes. Further, 252.692 acres of allotted land were utilised for purposes other than those for which the same were sanctioned,” the CAG’s performance and compliance report, tabled in the Odisha Legislative Assembly on Monday (September 28, 2026), said.

“Private lands measuring 7,102.062 acres were acquired by the Revenue and Disaster Management Department from 1983 to 2018 for the establishment of industries. Of this, 6,163.727 acres were allotted to Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (IDCO) and 938.335 acres to two others for setting up of industries. Audit noticed that 7,035.471 acres of land (99%) had not been utilised for the intended purposes as of October 2024 despite lapse of the stipulated period,” the report said.

It added that “the unutilised land included 1,958.145 acres, that the IDCO had not allotted as of October 2024”.

The CAG also found inadequate action by government agencies to prevent and remove encroachments from government lands. “On examination of records of the sampled tehsils, a random analysis found that 668.893 acres of government land, valued at ₹597.87 crore, remained under unauthorised occupation.” Of this, 179.802 acres were forestland occupied by different industrial organisations and educational institutions.

The report highlighted the unauthorised use of 10 acres of forestland by Bhubaneswar-based Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS). It said that though a case was instituted over the encroachment, KISS constructed buildings for an academic block, a vocational block, a hostel and roads on the forestland.

“The KISS continued to violate the Forest Rights Act and occupied land in connivance with the departmental staff and officers. The Centre had instructed the Collector, Khordha, to initiate action against erring officials of the Revenue Department, who were responsible for the violation. However, instead of taking action against erring officers, the Collector intimated that the Bhubaneswar tehsildarhad taken action,” CAG said.

The report noted that the Collector’s response did not specifically mention whether the encroachments by KISS had been removed. The audit found that no eviction had been carried out and the forest land remained under the institution’s occupation.

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