Finance
Redefining the requirements for homesteadless individuals is the goal of a ground-breaking measure that the Odisha government submitted in the state assembly on Saturday.
In order to qualify for land allocation benefits, families that own less than 1/25th of an acre (about 1,742 square feet) of homestead land will be deemed homesteadless under the Odisha Prevention of Land Encroachment (OPLE) (Amendment) Bill, 2025 ¹.
Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari claims that many families with small land holdings that are insufficient to construct a suitable housing unit are left out of the current laws, which only help those without homestead property. The new bill will replace the OPLE Act, 1972, which currently defines homesteadless persons as those with no homestead land, owning up to one acre of other land, and having an annual income below Rs 4,200.
Families having less than 1/25th of an acre of property will be eligible for increased land allocation under the proposed change. If additional property is available close to their current plot, the government may provide it, or they may be permitted to trade their smaller plot for a 1/25-acre plot at a place that is agreed upon by both parties.
Additionally, the government has promised not to evict households who have unlawfully occupied federal land for homestead purposes but do not have homestead land. Rather, the relevant tehsildar will relocate them to the actual land or another plot. Families will not be permitted to sell the allotted land, which will be inheritable but non-transferable.
The minister emphasized that each family’s total land holding, including both government-allocated and previously owned land, will be limited to 1/25th of an acre. This action is intended to provide relief to many rural households who were facing eviction because of a lack of available housing space, even though they owned small land holdings.
