A landless woman in Odisha’s Kendrapara district has allegedly been forced to live in a school building for the past eight months despite receiving a government land allotment under the Basundhara scheme eight years ago.

The woman, Sanjulata Sahu of Tulasi Sasan village under Aul tehsil in Kendrapara district, claimed that although she was allotted four decimal of land under the government scheme, the land has still not been identified or handed over to her.

With no permanent shelter of her own, Sahu and her son have been living in a local school building after their mud house collapsed. She alleged that repeated visits to the tehsil office and appeals to officials have failed to yield any result.

Sahu said she has submitted several petitions to the district administration and notices have reportedly been issued five to six times. However, she alleged that neither the Amin nor the Revenue Inspector (RI) has visited the site to demarcate the land.

The delay has left the family struggling for basic shelter despite possessing official government land documents. Locals expressed concern over the plight of the woman and demanded immediate intervention from the administration to ensure that she receives the land and housing benefits promised under the scheme.

“I was allotted four decimals of land 8 years ago. Despite that, the land is yet to be identified or handed over to me. I have been running from pillar to post, but in vain. I request concerned officials to take necessary action,” said Sahu.

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Responding to the issue, the tehsildar said necessary steps would be taken and assured that the matter would be resolved within a week.

“I went to the spot for an inquiry. I have already allotted demarcation date but it could not be done due to lack of cooperation of the villagers. We will take all necessary steps to handover the plot to her within a week,” said Suman Ghosh, Aul tehsildar.