The automatic cancellation of government land allotment orders occurs when premium is not deposited within the stipulated time, irrespective of communication issues regarding the order.

JUDGMENT :

K.R.MOHAPATRA, J.

1. This matter is taken up through hybrid mode.

2. Petitioner in this writ petition seeks to assail the order/ letter No.CSP-760/1990/786/CA dated 8^th January, 2020 (Annexure-5), whereby the prayer for allotment of government land/regularization of allotment made by the Petitioner was rejected by the General Administration and Public Grievance (GA and PG) Department, Government of Odisha.

3. Mr. Nayak, learned counsel for the Petitioner submits that pursuant to an advertisement, made an application in proper format for allotment of a government plot on 28^th January, 1987 (Annexure-1). In the said application form (Annexure-1), Petitioner has stated his permanent address as ‘AT/PO: Rachhipur, PS: Jajpur Road, Dist: Cuttack’. His present address was given as ‘P.K.Biswal, OFS, Additional Commissioner- Commercial Tax Officer, Cuttack-1, East Circle, Cuttack’. In a drawl of lot, the Petitioner was allotted with the residential Plot No.5 measuring 60’x90’, Drawing B/132, Chandrasekharpur, New Capital, Bhubaneswar (for short, ‘the case land’) vide letter No.19^th April, 1990. But the said order was never communicated to the Petitioner. No public notice was ever issued with regard to allotment of the case land in favour of the Petitioner. Thus, he was in complete dark about allotment of the case land in his favour. When the matter stood thus, the Petitioner submitted an application under the provisions of Right to Information Act on 21^st September, 2007 to know about the up-to-date status of allotment of Government land in his favour. The Petitioner only came to know from the information supplied that the case land was allotted in his favour vide allotment letter dated 19^th April, 1990 and the same was communicated in his official address. By that date, i.e., 19^th April, 1990, the Petitioner had already been transferred and was not available in the address in which the allotment order was communicated. Thus, the Petitioner had no occasion to know about such allotment.

4. It is his submission that the permanent address was given in the application form under Annexure-1. Thus, there was no difficulty in sending the allotment order in his permanent address. Had it been so communicated; the Petitioner could have taken steps to deposit the premium within sixty days of such order of allotment as stipulated therein. Thus, no fault can be attributed to the Petitioner in not depositing the premium within the stipulated time.

4.1 However, on receipt of the information through RTI Act, the Petitioner immediately deposited the premium on 24^th October, 2007. But no action was taken at the instance of the GA and PG Department to execute the lease deed in his favour. The Petitioner also vide letter dated 26^th October, 2007 (Annexure-4) requested to supply a draft lease deed for execution. But the authorities sat over the matter till 2020 and communicated the impugned order/letter under Annexure-5 stating that the prayer for allotment of a piece of government land/regularization of allotment has been rejected. It was stated therein that since the Petitioner did not deposit the premium within a period sixty days and further period of 15 days, as stipulated in the allotment order, the provisional allotment order stood cancelled automatically.

4.2 It is further submitted that immediately after the Petitioner came to know about such allotment through RTI application, the premium was deposited. The GA and PG Department had also never objected to the acceptance of premium deposited by the Petitioner. He further submits that case of the Petitioner is squarely covered by order dated 23^rd November, 2017