A dispute over land involving Kalinga Public School, an acclaimed English-medium school, has come into the limelight, creating doubts about the fate of the institution.
Even though Dr. Achyuta Samanta is renowned for his dedication towards providing quality education to underprivileged children, the credibility of the old IMFA Kalinga Public School in Choudwar has been doubted.
Eviction notice issued by a court for the school premises has only worsened the scenario for the local community.
The institution was founded back in 1961 by the erstwhile Chief Minister of Odisha, Biju Patnaik, who aimed to impart English-medium education to the common people’s children. Gradually, the authorities had sanctioned land for the institute, and when the BJD government came into power, it had plans to incorporate it within its 5T program.
But because the school is situated on the premises of IMFA, a conflict over land ownership has taken place. According to reports, it is said that Indian Metals and Ferro Alloys (IMFA) had taken possession of the land via a lawsuit and has issued a notice for the eviction of the school from the land.
The alumni association strongly objected to this step. They contended that the land was allotted only for educational purposes and was influenced politically to allot it to the name of the firm.
Moreover, they cited the letter of Biju Patnaik from 1975, in which it was mentioned that any commercial enterprise must not be set up in the land.
They have asked for an official inquiry into the matter and are likely to take the Supreme Court’s help in this respect.
