The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has detected large-scale irregularities in the transfer of land belonging to Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) communities to non-SC/ST individuals in Odisha, uncovering arbitrary decision-making, poor scrutiny of records, and alleged violations of statutory safeguards meant to protect vulnerable landholders.
In a significant finding, the audit found that three sub-collectors of Sonepur, Birmaharajpur and Kendrapara granted permission for the transfer of 661.073 acres of SC/ST land in 1,287 cases between 2018 and 2023, despite multiple violations of the Odisha Land Reforms (OLR) Act and government guidelines.
According to the draft CAG report, reviewed by Business Standard, the land transferred included 104.808 acres belonging to ST families and 556.265 acres belonging to SC families, all sold in favour of persons from non-SC/ST categories.
While the sub-collectors rejected 504 applications and kept 908 pending as of October/December 2023, audit scrutiny of 528 selected cases, including 28 rejected ones, revealed serious irregularities in 335 cases involving the transfer of 378.921 acres.
The report stated permissions were granted for purposes such as medical treatment, repayment of loans, marriage expenses, higher education, construction of houses, purchase of land and business needs, often without proper verification of records or documentary evidence, undermining the legal safeguards built into the OLR Act.
Section 22(1) of the Odisha Land Reforms Act, 1960 restricts the sale or transfer of land belonging to SC/ST persons to non-SC/ST buyers unless specific permission is granted by the competent revenue authority, usually the sub-collector.
The Revenue and Disaster Management Department had also issued instructions in December 2020 directing sub-collectors to obtain detailed reports from tehsildars, verify ownership records, ensure that the purpose of sale was genuine, confirm that the seller would not be pushed into distress, and ascertain that the seller was not being used as a conduit by third parties.
The audit found permissions were granted even in cases involving jointly held land, and where the residual land left after sale was below one acre, the minimum considered necessary for family sustenance.
“In 29 cases, the tehsildars concerned or additional district welfare officers had explicitly recommended that permission should not be granted due to improper documentation, insufficient residual land, or doubts over the financial condition of applicants. Despite this, the sub-collectors approved the transfers,” the report stated.
Medical treatment used as grounds
The audit found that 120.7 acres were allowed to be sold in 111 cases on medical grounds. Of these, in 86 cases involving 102.928 acres, there were no records to establish the legitimacy of the treatment claim. In many cases, documents such as hospital estimates, referrals from government doctors, or treatment records were absent.
In the remaining 25 cases, permissions were granted on the basis of OPD slips or laboratory reports, which the audit said did not constitute adequate grounds for alienation of protected land.
Citing that Odisha already had healthcare support systems like the Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana (BSKY) during the period, with free treatment facilities, besides emergency assistance under the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund, the audit flagged that SC/ST land was sold for medical treatment, which appeared to be an “invalid pretext” in many cases.
The audit found similar lapses in cases where land sale was allowed for repayment of loans. A total of 97.866 acres were transferred in 91 cases for this purpose. However, records often did not contain basic details such as loan amount, purpose of borrowing, or outstanding dues.
In two cases at Sonepur, permissions were granted solely on the basis of self-affidavits of applicants, without independent verification. Further, in 20 cases, the residual land condition was violated, and in five cases, joint property was allowed to be sold.
Marriage, education, house construction grounds misused
The CAG observed that 160.355 acres in 133 cases were approved for sale for marriage, higher education of children, purchase of new land, construction or improvement of houses, and setting up businesses. But there were no supporting documents in many of these cases. Neither applicants submitted records nor did tehsildars or sub-collectors insist on them.
Although an instruction issued by the Revenue Divisional Commissioner of the northern division in July 1998 makes it clear that permission for sale of land should not be granted for marriage purposes, 23.723 acres were allowed to be sold in 25 instances despite being jointly held or leaving the family with less than the minimum required landholding.
In one of the more serious observations, the audit found that in 71 cases involving 85.424 acres, the land proposed for sale had been purchased by the applicants within one year of seeking permission to resell it to non-SC/ST buyers.
“This indicated the possibility that SC/ST individuals may have been used as conduits by third parties to bypass legal restrictions on land purchase. The sub-collectors failed to examine whether such transactions were benami or proxy arrangements,” the draft CAG report added.