JUDGMENT

R. N. BISWAL, J. — The petitioners, all of whom are resi¬dents of village Khairapali, under Ranpur Police Station of Naya¬garh district, call in question the legality of the order in dropping the proposal for transfer of Ac.16.80 decs. of Pahal land appertaining to Bhalukhiya Mundia hill recorded in the name of village Giridharpur to their village and communicating the same to the opp. pt No.3 through letter No.7165 LRS dated 22.7.1997 of the Additional director, Land records and Survey by opp.party No.1.

2. The case of the petitioners in nub is that in terms of Section 36 of the Orissa Survey and Settlement Act the Government vide Revenue Department Notification No.42032/R dated 6.9.1990 ordered for survey, preparation of R.O.Rs. and settlement of land records simultaneously in respect of the land under Ranpur Police Station. In course of the second round of survey, the petitioners filed a petition before opp.party No.3 for change of boundary of their village by amalgamating Ac.16.80 decs. of land out of Bhalukhiya Mundia hill on the basis of Bhaluria Settlement, 1896 and accordingly opp.party No.3 directed the Assistant Settlement Officer, KLK Camp, Ranpur to conduct a preliminary enquiry in this regard. Accordingly he conducted the preliminary enquiry in presence of the villagers of village Khairapali and Giridharpur and submitted his report dated 24.2.1994 to the opp.party No.3 stating that Bhallukhiya Mundia hill was wrongly amalgamated in village Giridharpur in the 1952 settlement. The opp.party No.3 in turn forwarded the report to opp.party No.2, who in terms of the power vested on him under Rule 61(3) of the Orissa Survey and Settlement Rules (hereinafter referred to as “the Rules”) author¬ized Sri Gandharb Charan Sahu, OSCS & ASO, Ranapur to conduct local enquiry and submit his report. Accordingly, he conducted the local enquiry and submitted a detailed report proposing to carve out Ac.16.80 decs. of land from Bhalukhiya Mundia hill, wrongly recorded in the revenue village of Giridharpur and include the same in the area of village Khairapali. On the basis of this report, on 13.10.1995 opp.party No.2 recommended the proposal (Annexure-1) to the Commissioner, Land Records and Settlement, Board of Revenue, Orissa, Cuttack (opp.party No.1) for necessary orders, but, without applying its mind opp.party No.1 illegally dropped the proposal for transfer of Ac.16.80 decs. of land appertaining to Bhallukhiya Mundia hill, recorded in the name of village Giridharpur to village Khairapali, without notice to any of the villagers of village Khairapali. Hence the writ petition.

3. Opp.party No.3 in her counter affidavit admitted that on 24.12.1993 some of the villagers of village Khairapali submit¬ted a petition before her for amalgamation of Ac.16.80 decs. of land in the their village carving out the same from village Giridharpur and that she directed the A.S.C., Ranpur to hold a preliminary enquiry in this regard and accordingly he conducted the enquiry and submitted his report vide letter No.461 dated 24.2.1994 to her. It is also admitted that Sri Gandharb Charan Sahu, A.S.O., Ranapur was authorized statutorily by opp.party No.2 on 16.7.1994 to enquire about the boundary dispute in detail and submit his report. Accordingly Sri Sahu issued statutory notice vide PR No.52 dated 6.8.1994 to the villagers of both village Khariapali and Giridharpur and all adjacent villages, besides issuing notice to the Collector and D.F.O., Nayagarh and Tahasildar, Ranapur inviting objection within 30 days and after expiry of the said period conducted enquiry in presence of the villagers of village Giridharpur and Khairapali on 18.3.1994. The A.S.O. in his report dated 13.4.1995 suggested that Ac.16.80 decs. of land in Bhallu Mundiya hill marked as ‘Ka’ in his trace map should be amalgamated in revenue village of Khairapali on transferring the same from village Giridharpur which was endorsed by opp.party No.2 to pp.party No.1. In its letter N