FCC

Odisha To Review Twin-City Project Road Approvals

2025-06-27

The Odisha Government will scrutinise all approach-road permissions issued to real-estate schemes in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack over the past five years, following a controversy that led to a project’s registration being revoked for citing railway land as its sole access.

Housing and Urban Development Minister Krushna Chandra Mahapatra has asked officials of the Bhubaneswar Development Authority, Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation, Cuttack Development Authority and Cuttack Municipal Corporation to submit full records for every scheme cleared since 2020. Details sought include the building-plan approval, the planning officer’s name, land schedule, precise dimensions of access roads and any no-objection certificates obtained where third-party land is involved.

The directive emphasises that if an approach road crosses private or Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe holdings, the land must first be conveyed to the Government by registered deed before an NOC can be granted. Projects that have bypassed this rule risk sanctions.

The crackdown follows an April ruling by the Odisha Real Estate Regulatory Authority, which cancelled the registration of the ‘HN Courtyard’ project in Gadakana after finding its only approach road lay on railway land. Last year the Directorate of Estates also questioned the city authorities for allegedly accepting security deposits and granting road access to two other schemes on Government land without clearance from the General Administration Department.

Officials say the review aims to protect home-buyers and uphold planning norms across the rapidly growing Twin City region.