HC advocates’ panel to inspect ‘enroachments’ at protected site

Cuttack: Orissa high court on Tuesday formed a two-member committee of advocates to visit the Khandagiri and Udayagiri caves on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar and submit a status report on encroachments at the protected site.
A two-judge bench of Chief Justice Chakradhari Sharan Singh and Justice Savitri Ratho issued the direction on a petition filed by Shree Khandagiri Udaygiri Digambara Jain Sidha Khetra, a Cuttack-based organisation.
“Keeping in mind the importance of the caves, we deem it appropriate to request additional govt advocates Lalatendu Samantaray and Suman Pattnaik to visit the site on Sunday (Sept 22) and submit a detailed report,” the bench said and posted the matter for further consideration on Sept 25.
The bench also directed the collector and district magistrate of Khurda to remove all illegal encroachments “as far as is practical” before the committee’s visit. The bench also directed the collector to depute an officer not below the rank of sub-collector to accompany the committee members and provide all facilities for inspection of the sites.