CAG flags unused industrial land and encroachments in Odisha

India’s Comptroller and Auditor General has found that more than 12,393 acres allotted for industries and related activities in Odisha remained unused for their intended purposes. The finding appears in a performance and compliance report tabled in the Odisha Legislative Assembly on Monday. The audit covered land allotted between 1981 and 2021 and also identified cases where land was used for purposes different from those approved.

The CAG said 12,393.651 acres had not been utilised and another 252.692 acres had been diverted. It noted that the Odisha Government Land Settlement Act and the land-acquisition law require leased or acquired land to be used within specified periods, but lease deeds did not state a specific utilisation deadline. The audit also examined 7,102.062 acres of private land acquired by the Revenue and Disaster Management Department for industrial development between 1983 and 2018.

Of that total, 7,035.471 acres, or 99%, had not been used for the intended purpose by October 2024. The unused land included 1,958.145 acres that the Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation had not allotted. The CAG separately found 668.893 acres of government land, valued at ₹597.87 crore, under unauthorised occupation in sampled tehsils.

The report said 179.802 acres of that land was forestland occupied by industrial organisations and educational institutions. It specifically cited 10 acres used by Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences in Bhubaneswar for buildings, a hostel and roads. The CAG said the land remained occupied and no eviction had taken place, while the Collector’s response did not specify whether the encroachment had been removed.