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The Odisha government is undertaking a comprehensive reform to simplify its outdated and overly complex land classification and ownership systems. With more than 7,000 land-use types and nearly 3,000 forms of land ownership rooted in colonial-era laws, the administration is now streamlining these into 27 use categories and a simplified set of ownership types. This initiative aims to bring transparency, legal clarity, and administrative efficiency. Additional reforms, including updated property conversion fees, new urban planning regulations, and legal safeguards for SC/ST land rights, complement this overhaul. The state is also repealing obsolete statutes and responding to recent judicial guidance on land titles.
The Odisha government has set in motion a far-reaching plan to simplify its fragmented and outdated land administration system by drastically reducing the number of land classifications and ownership categories. Currently burdened with more than 7,000 kisam-based land types and nearly 3,000 ownership formats, the state intends to consolidate these into just 27 land-use categories and a far more streamlined ownership framework. Advertisement
The classifications of land in Odisha spanning agricultural, homestead, forest, industrial, and government holdings are currently subdivided into hundreds of localised kisams such as 'bahal', 'bhogra', 'maal', and others. Government-owned lands, too, are divided into types like 'gochar' (grazing), 'rakhshit' (protected), and 'anabadi' (uncultivated), among others. Likewise, the state's legal framework recognises nearly 3,000 different ownership formats based on a patchwork of historical laws, including the Orissa Estates Abolition Act of 1951 and the Orissa Land Reforms Act of 1960.
To implement this reform, legislative amendments are already in the works. Notifications outlining the new classifications are expected to be issued soon. A consultative process is also underway, with input being taken from domain experts, political leaders, and administrative officials. The Revenue Department has initiated steps to identify and repeal outdated statutes that no longer serve any purpose but still create legal ambiguities in land matters.
This classification overhaul is part of a broader set of land-related policy reforms being pushed by the state government. In the past week, it notified revised rules on property conversion fees, adjusted urban planning standards under the Second Amendment Rules, and announced plans to establish a dedicated corpus fund to protect land rights of SC/ST communities. These measures are designed to enhance land use governance while protecting vulnerable populations from displacement or illegal dispossession.
Adding further weight to the state's move is a recent Supreme Court ruling, which clarified that land title validity is based on substantive legal proof rather than mere registration. This judicial clarification has significant implications for land disputes and has prompted the Odisha government to ensure that ownership frameworks are not only simpler but also legally robust.
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