Cuttack, Oct 15: The Orissa High Court has directed the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to issue fresh notices to the unauthorized occupants in and around cave numbers 8, 9, and 11 at Khandagiri hill in Bhubaneswar.
The directions came after it was revealed that notices were last issued 23 years ago, with no follow-up action taken to date.
The Shree Khandagiri Udaygiri Digambara Jain Siddha Khetra, a Cuttack-based organisation, had filed the PIL seeking judicial intervention against the unauthorised encroachments at the protected site.
Considering the PIL, the court on September 18 had appointed additional government advocates Lalatendu Samantaray and Suman Pattnaik as “officers of the court” to inspect the site on September 22.
No case of encroachments, either temporary or permanent will be tolerated, the bench sated on September 30 following their report.
The ASI’s Bhubaneswar Circle had issued notices to one Krushna Chandra Mohanty on October 23, 2023 to remove unauthorized structures from the protected area within 15 days. However, no action has been taken so far.
The Collector of Khurda submitted that if a fresh notice is issued under Section 19(2) of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958, by the ASI to the unauthorized occupants, he shall take steps in accordance with the law to remove such encroachments.
Taking this into account, the division bench of Justice Chakradhari Sharan Singh and Justice Savitri Ratho asked the Collector to identify the names and details of the persons in unauthorized occupation of the areas in question and furnish the information to the Superintending Archaeologist, ASI, Bhubaneswar (Circle) within two weeks.
“We direct that as soon as the Superintending Archaeologist, ASI (Bhubaneswar Circle) receives the details of the encroachers/unauthorized occupants, he shall fulfill his statutory obligation under Section 19(2) of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958. If the encroachers do not remove the encroachments within the stipulated time, the District Magistrate of Khurda shall take steps for removal of such encroachments in accordance with the law,” the bench stated in its official order released on October 11.
