Hirakud Dam is built across the Mahanadi River, close to Sambalpur city in Odisha in India.
Type: It is a composite structure of earth, concrete and masonry. It is the longest major earthen dam in India.
Background: It is one of the first major multipurpose river valley projects started after India's independence and began operations in 1957.
With successful irrigation provided by the dam, Sambalpur is called the rice bowl of Odisha
It is one of India's first multifunctional projects following independence.
The building began in 1948 and was finished in 1953.
It was created to control the flow of the Mahanadi River and manage the region's recurring flood problem.
The dam was inaugurated in 1957 by then-Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
Why in News
The Odisha government appointed a task force to solve the State’s complex problems with pattas, some dating back over a century.
Satyasundar Barik untangles some of the 30 terrain troubles that people faced and what it
means to them to have deeds registered in their names now.
In one of India’s first major post-independence multipurpose river valley projects.
The government was about to impound the Hirakud reservoir, formed as a result of damming the Mahanadi river.
Duanmunda was one of the 19 villages in the district that were majorly hit.
What is Nazul land, Poramboke land, Abadi (basti) land and Chaka land mentoned in the article
Nazul land stands for escheated properties, seized after the first war of independence in 1857.
Often managed directly by the government.
Occasionally used for public purposes or leased for 30 years in areas such as Sambalpur, Jharsuguda, Kesinga, Bhawanipatana, Junagarh, and other urban zones.
Poramboke land, denoting uncultivated lands in villages reserved for communal purposes despite being in possession of individuals for generations.
It is a result of the State’s Tamil association.
These can be reinstated to individuals.
Abadi (basti) land comes under Section 71 of the Central Provinces Land Revenue Act, 1917.
Settlement officers in inhabited villages determine reserved land for residents or ancillary purposes, observed in Sambalpur, Jharsuguda, Baragarh, and Nuapada.
Chaka land, a result of consolidation of agricultural land in eight districts under the Odisha Consolidation of Holdings and Prevention of Fragmentation of Land Act, 1972, will also see changes.
This land could not be sold in parts but only as a whole.
Recognising the increasing demand for land for housing and other development, the government amended the law in 2023.
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