Massive Land Fraud Exposed in Rayagada: Fake Paddy Fields Registered Over Roads, Ponds, and Forests
C. B. SINGH, BUREAU CHIEF -(Southern Odisha)-
Rayagada, Odisha – A shocking land scam has been unearthed in Rayagada district, where over 13,600 acres of non-agricultural land were fraudulently registered as paddy cultivation fields. Satellite surveys have exposed an elaborate network of brokers and fraudulent registrations, turning ponds, roads, grazing lands, and even brick kilns into “farmlands” to exploit government procurement systems.
Sources reveal that brokers have orchestrated this scam to pocket profits by falsely registering non-agricultural plots in the names of unsuspecting farmers. Investigations have uncovered jaw-dropping anomalies: a 2.93-acre road in Singanapur Mauja, a 4.68-acre tree garden in Beheraguda Mauja, and a 17.34-acre brick kiln in Rayagada Tahasil were all registered as paddy fields. Shockingly, fish farming ponds and cashew orchards have also been disguised as rice farms, further deepening the scandal.
The fraudulent practices are not confined to paddy. The cotton sector is also embroiled in deceit, with brokers registering forest land and fallow plots as cotton cultivation areas. In Kamguda Mauja, a cashew orchard spanning 7.84 acres was labeled as farmland, while cotton fences in Kalama village under Gunupur Block were similarly misrepresented.
Despite the scandal being exposed through satellite imagery, authorities have yet to take decisive action against the culprits. Genuine farmers, many of whom are sharecroppers, are left helpless as they face exploitation by brokers who sell their produce at inflated prices in the open market.
“This is daylight robbery,” said a local farmer leader. “Brokers are stealing from both farmers and the government, while the administration remains silent. We demand a full-scale investigation.”
Outrage is mounting across the district as hundreds of affected farmers call for justice. Intellectuals and activists have slammed the district administration for its failure to act, demanding an independent probe to expose the perpetrators and restore faith in the system.
This scandal has sent shockwaves through Rayagada, raising urgent questions about the integrity of land registration and procurement systems in Odisha. Farmers are now pleading with the state government to intervene before the crisis deepens further.
