Bhubanewar, July 19 : BJP Deputy leader Bishnu Sethi on Tuesday expressed his concern
over the encroachment of land of heritage site Sisupalgarh on the outskirts of the capital city.

Raising the issue during the zero hour in the Odisha Assembly, Sethy urged Speaker Bikram Keshari Arukh to direct the government to make a statement in the house on the situation.

Sethi said though ASI is the nodal agency for the protection and conservation of Sishupalgada still it is the moral duty of the Odisha government to protect it as the heritage site belonged to the state.

He said some individuals have encroached on the Sisupalgarh land and the government is finding it difficult to evacuate them even though it has all the resources under it and could have directed its officials to evict the people.

Sethi said 562.681 acres of land of Sisupalgarh was registered in the name of ASI in 1950.The ASI was asked to acquire the land but it sat over it and did not take any step.

Over the years most of the land was encroached by individuals and only 0.775 acre of land was recorded in the name of ASI in 1982.

Sethi said it is a matter of shame that both the state government and the ASI are now in High Court
to free the land from encroachment.

The BJP MLA said Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik must intervene in to the matter and find a solution to the problem