Shock in Paralakhemundi: Entire Village Sold for ₹1.5 Crore, Future of 500 Tribal Residents in Jeopardy
Paralakhemundi: A curious twist in governance and policy — an entire village in Gajapati district’s Gosani block, named Doctor Banjari, has reportedly been sold for Rs1.5 crore. The village spans about 47 acres of land, which has now been transferred to a private individual.
Surprisingly, despite having government-funded amenities like roads, a school, and drinking water facilities, the entire village has been sold. A woman from Brahmapur has purchased the land for approximately ₹1.5 crore, and the registration process has been completed at the district sub-registrar’s office.
This has raised serious concerns about the future of the tribal families who have been living in the village for decades. Even though the village has government-established infrastructure like a school building, Anganwadi centre, and housing under various schemes, it has been shown as mere agricultural land in documents — leading to allegations of planned land sale manipulation.
The entire land — officially owned by M. Chandra Sekhar Rao — was sold in parts:
- 42 acres of farmland sold for Rs1.44 crore, withRs7 lakh paid in stamp duty
- An additional 5 acres sold for Rs8.5 lakh
- All 47 acres have been registered in the name of the Brahmapur-based woman.
The critical issue now is: what will happen to the tribal families, including over 500 members of the Saura and Urdu-speaking communities, who have been living in the village for generations?
These families depend on farming and forest produce for their livelihood. The sudden and unexpected sale has left the villagers shocked and confused, as they had never imagined facing such a crisis.
With the land now in private hands, there is a growing fear that the entire village may be forcibly evicted. The future of hundreds of indigenous tribal families — their homes, farmland, and way of life — now hangs in uncertainty.