On 19 February 2020, the Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) and the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) started a demolition drive in the Salia Sahi slum area to construct a six-lane parallel road between Jaydev Vihar and Patia Square in Bhubaneswar. The objective of the government to construct the road is to ease traffic congestion in the city.
The slum dwellers cried foul and claimed that the government did not serve them eviction notices prior to undertaking the demolition drive. The residents protested the move by taking to the streets with placards and shouting slogans. They blocked the roads and stopped the officials and the JCBs from entering their lane to carry out the demolition. They demanded the implementation of the Forest Rights Act and land to build houses. They also demanded that the date of the eviction be postponed so that the children can appear for their exam peacefully.
The police had deployed nine platoons of force to avoid any untoward incident. The residents withdrew their protest after BMC Commissioner Prem Chandra Chaudhary assured them that the eviction drive would be put on hold until the exams were over.
LCW emailed the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC), the Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) and the Commissionerate of Police for an update, but did not get any response.
Salia Sahi is home to at least 8,000 daily wage labourers. The residents say they do not have any other source of livelihood. According to them, many children in the area were preparing for their higher secondary certificate examination when officials attempted to start the eviction drive.
Sal Marndi, a member of the Salia Sahi Regional Committee (SSRC), told the media, “The BDA and BMC are violating the provisions of the Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006, and the Indian Forest (Amendment) Bill, 2012. Besides, they did not give us prior information about the eviction drive today.”
SSRC President Anjan Nath said that the committee “welcomes the initiatives of the BDA and the BMC. However, they should rehabilitate us before demolishing our houses”.
While land settlement has been started in the Adivasi Colony of the slum under the FRA and Jaga Mission, many areas of the slum have been deprived of this benefit due to lack of environment clearance.
Before the Jaga Mission, the slums had been surveyed under Rajiv Awas Yojana. Later, they were allotted flats under PMAY, but no rights over the property were granted to either the authorised or the unauthorised dwellers.
On 19 October 2025, the BDA and BMC carried out an eviction drive and demolished 29 houses at Salia Sahi for the same project. BDA Liaison Officer said, “The evictees were relocated to affordable housing units at Buddha Nagar, ensuring rehabilitation”.
Many families have been allotted housing units in phases through a lottery system in different Affordable Housing Project (AHP) units, including the Buddha Vihar housing at Chandrasekharpur. However, many residents continue to protest against the demolition drives carried out time to time, demanding land rights and patta issuance rather than AHP units. They said that they should be allotted land not flats as it is forest land.
Meanwhile, government officials assert that their demolition efforts are limited to homes belonging to individuals who have already been allocated AHP units. However, residents contest this claim, stating that homes of those who have not received AHP allocations have also been destroyed.
Demand/Contention of the Affected Community
Complaint against procedural violations
Demand for rehabilitation
Demand for legal recognition of land rights
Demand to retain/protect access to common land/resources
Refusal to give up land for the project
Other Demand/Contention of the Affected Community
Demand to postpone eviction until children's Board exams are complete
Region Classification
Urban
Type of Land
Common
Forest
What was the action taken by the police?
How many people did the police detain or arrest?
What is the current status of the detained/accused persons?
Did the person face any violence while in police custody?
If any arrests took place, were the accused persons produced before a judge within 24 hours of the arrest?
If the accused was not produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, or not produced at all, what were the reasons?
Legislation under which the accused was charged
Was the accused person informed of their right to legal representation? Did the accused person have access to legal aid?
In cases where the accused person approached the court for bail, was bail granted?
Why was bail granted or rejected? If granted, what were the bail conditions and quantum of bail?
Details of sources (names of accused, names and numbers of any lawyers, names of any police officers contacted)
Status of Project
Original Project Deadline
Whether the Project has been Delayed
Significance of Land to Land Owners/Users
Residential area
Whether the project was stalled due to land conflict
Source/Reference
Total investment involved (in Crores):
₹
Type of investment:
Year of Estimation
Has the Conflict Ended?
No
When did it end?
Why did the conflict end?
Categories of Legislations Involved in the Conflict
Forest and Scheduled Area Governance Laws, Forest and Scheduled Area Governance Laws
Legislations/Policies Involved
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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Whether claims/objections were made as per procedure in the relevant statute
What was the claim(s)/objection(s) raised by the community?
What was the Decision of the Concerned Government Department?
Legal Processes and Loopholes Enabling the Conflict:
Non-rehabilitation of displaced people
Forced evictions/dispossession of land
Violation of free prior informed consent
Non-implementation/violation of FRA
Legal Status:
Out of Court
Status of Case In Court
Whether any adjudicatory body was approached
Name of the adjudicatory body
Name(s) of the Court(s)
Case Number
Main Reasoning/Decision of court
Major Human Rights Violations Related to the Conflict:
Displacement
Whether criminal law was used against protestors:
Reported Details of the Violation:
The houses of slum dwellers in the Sali Sahi area were demolished and the people evicted even as children were preparing for their examination.
Date of Violation
February 18, 2020
Location of Violation
Salia Sahi, Bhubaneswar
Government Departments Involved in the Conflict:
Bhubaneswar Development Authority, Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation, Commissionerate of Police
PSUs Involved in the Conflict:
Did LCW Approach Government Authorities for Comments?
Yes
Name, Designation and Comment of the Government Authorities Approached
Corporate Parties Involved in the Conflict:
Did LCW Approach Corporate Parties for Comments?
No
Communities/Local Organisations in the Conflict:
Residents of Salia Sahi, Salia Sahi Regional Committee
What was the action taken by the police?
How many people did the police detain or arrest?
What is the current status of the detained/accused persons?
Did the person face any violence while in police custody?
If any arrests took place, were the accused persons produced before a judge within 24 hours of the arrest?
If the accused was not produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, or not produced at all, what were the reasons?
Legislation under which the accused was charged
Was the accused person informed of their right to legal representation? Did the accused person have access to legal aid?
In cases where the accused person approached the court for bail, was bail granted?
Why was bail granted or rejected? If granted, what were the bail conditions and quantum of bail?
Were there any other notable irregularities that took place, or other significant details?
