SASHI BHUSHAN ACHARYA Vs. STATE OF ORISSA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE aforesaid Public Interest Litigations have been filed by the Petitioners originally seeking to challenge the proposed Scheme for re -organisation of the Revenue Department vis -a -vis re -organisation of Settlement and Consolidation with Tahasil Administration vide Annexures 2 and 3 to WPC No. 7763 of 2003 and thereafter, further seeking to challenge Resolution No. DRC - 33/2003 -57938/R dated 6.12.2003 of the Government under Annexure -1 to W.P.(C) No. 13959 of 2003.

(2.) THE Petitioners in both the writ applications, inter alia, seek to challenge the proposal/resolution of the Government of Orissa dated 6.12.2003 deciding to: (1) Integrate the Settlement and Consolidation work into mainstream of Tahasil Administration. (2) Rationalize Revenue Administration at the Directorate, District, Sub -Divisional and Tahasil level. (3) Reorganize the training institutes.

(3.) MR . Panda also placed reliance on the averments contained in paragraph -19 of the writ application and submitted that the erstwhile Director of Land Records and Survey, Shri P.K. Tripathy, had submitted a draft on reorganization Scheme to suit the corrupt higher bureaucrats, Ministers and politicians for which he was rewarded with the Scheme of implementing the computerization of land records and he was given the responsibilities of spending the aforesaid huge funds meant for computeriasation. According to Shri Panda the money spent on computerization led to corrupt practices and have been distributed amongst the said corrupt officials and politicians and that the concerned officer was also involved in a Land Scam at Bhubaneswar for which hundreds of Acres of Government land have been wrongly recorded in favour of private parties. He further submitted that to give a sealed cover to the above Land Scam, the Settlement and Consolidation operation have been sought to be suspended/abandoned in the garb of reorganization of Revenue Administration and under the patronage of such bureaucrats. In this respect Mr. Panda placed reliance upon a letter of the Charge Officer, Puri dated 3.2.2003 and the letter dated 3.5.2003 of the General Administration Department under Annexures -7 and 8 to the writ application. The averments contained in paragraph -19 of the writ application are quoted below: