Odisha Launches Camp Court to Expedite Appeals under ODA Act

Bhubaneswar, Nov 1: In a landmark step towards ensuring citizen-centric governance and faster justice delivery, the Odisha government on Friday organized a special Camp Court to speed up appeal cases under the Odisha Development Authorities (ODA) Act, 1982.

The initiative, conducted under the direct guidance of Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, was led by Usha Padhee, Principal Secretary of the Housing and Urban Development (H&UD) Department. Serving as the designated appellate authority for the Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) and Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC), Padhee presided over the day-long session.

During the hearing, 140 appeal cases were resolved, bringing significant relief to citizens and reducing the backlog of over 400 pending cases. Most of these appeals were filed by residents challenging various orders issued by BDA and BMC under the ODA Act.

The Camp Court initiative is part of a larger government strategy to strengthen the appellate system and accelerate case disposal. To further decentralize and streamline the process, the state government has recently appointed Special and Additional Secretaries as appellate authorities for similar cases in other regions.

The move has been widely appreciated by the public for enhancing transparency, fairness, and accountability in administrative proceedings. The H&UD Department has also announced that similar Camp Court sessions will be held in subsequent phases to systematically clear remaining appeals in a time-bound manner.

Officials said the initiative reinforces the government’s “citizen-first” approach and aims to make urban governance more responsive and efficient.