Obsession for land: Odisha forest officer found to have purchased 115 plots-OxBig News Network

An Odisha forest officer was found to have amassed an astonishing 115 plots in places he was posted over the past 33 years, the State’s Vigilance Directorate said.

When officials of the Vigilance Directorate — the anti-corruption wing of the Odisha government — began combing through details of properties linked to Nityananda Nayak, an Odisha Forest Service officer, they expected irregularities. But what they unearthed was an extraordinary land-buying spree.

Currently serving as the Divisional Forest Officer of the Kendu Leaf Division in Keonjhar, Mr. Nayak appears to have spent his three-decade-long service in not just protecting forests, but quietly cultivating a real-estate empire.

His purchases began modestly — just two plots between 1992 and 2006. But from 2007 onward, his obsession had grown. During his posting as Forest Ranger in the Khariar division (2007–2015), he acquired 64 plots. Promoted to Assistant Conservator of Forests, he added 39 more between 2015 and 2022. As Deputy Conservator of Forests in the PCCF (Wildlife) office, Bhubaneswar, he purchased another eight plots from 2022 to 2024. And even in his current posting in Keonjhar, he had added two more since January this year.

The tally? A staggering 115 plots. But that is not all.

The vigilance probe also revealed a four-storeyed, 9,000-square-foot building constructed by Mr. Nayak at Turanga in Angul. A closer look at ownership details revealed that of the 115 plots, 53 were in Nayak’s name, 42 in his wife’s, and 20 under the name of his two sons and daughter. All were concentrated in the Chhendipada area of Angul — a region sitting atop vast coal reserves. With land compensation in the area running into crores, officials believe the acquisitions were strategic, aimed at future windfalls.

The directorate, which is compiling a list of government officials who had amassed such assets, has placed Mr. Nayak right at the top — surpassing even Pravas Kumar Pradhan, a former Chief Construction Engineer of the Anandpur Barrage, who owned 105 plots. Others on the list include Ramachandra Mishra, former Joint Commissioner of Excise, and Pradeep Kumar Rath, Additional Chief Engineer of Odisha Bridge and Construction Corporation, both with over 50 plots each.

An investigation into the source of funds for Mr. Nayak’s expansive land holdings is currently under way.