ORIGIN OF ENDOWMENT DEPARTMENT IN ODISHA AND IT'S PRESENT LOCATION
The administration of religious institutions for their proper upkeep and maintenance as well as for safeguarding their properties and fulfillment of the objects for which they are intended or founded have been vested in the successive Governments and the first piece of legislation in this regard appeared in India was “The Bengal Regulations of 1810 which was soon followed by the Madras and Bombay Regulations of 1817 and 1827 respectively. The code of Civil Procedure,1908, in section 92 provided for a general administration of the Trust created for public purposes of a charitable and religious nature. Several other statutes came into operation subsequently, having been found inadequate for meeting the increasing problems of the religious institutions, the Madras Hindu Religious, and Charitable Endowments Act of 1927 came into operation. The Orissa Hindu Religious Endowments Act, 1939 was constituted by following similar legislation of other states, and the same was put into operation on the 4th day of November.1939.
In order to assume more effective control over the religious institutions, the Orissa Hindu Religious Endowments Act, 1951 was brought into force with its amending Act in 1954, on the 1st day of January 1955, and still in force with necessary amendments from time to time. The office of the Commissioner of Endowments, Orissa was initially located at Cuttack the old Capital of Orissa, and subsequently shifted to the new capital, Bhubaneswar in the year.1965 and functioned in a private building,. Now it is functioning in its own building at B.J.B. Nagar, Bhubaneswar since the year1995.
APPLICABILITY OF THE ACT.
The Orissa Hindu Religious Endowments Act, 1951 applies to all public Religious Institutions and Endowments situated in the state of Odisha. The State Government may by notification extend to any Jain & Buddhist public religious institution or any public religious endowment or a charitable and religious institution, provided that before issuing such notification, the State Govt. shall publish in the Gazette, a notice of their intention to do so for the persons interested in the institution and endowments concerned to show cause against the issue of such notification and consider their objection if any. So all the Hindu Religious Institutions which are prima facie public in nature would come under the purview of the Act.
Jurisdiction of the Commissioner extends to the whole state of Odisha and applies to all Hindu Public Religious Institutions and Endowments except, Lord Jagannath Temple Puri, for which, a separate Act has been enacted in the name of ‘Sri Jagannath Temple Act, 1958’.However, the Commissioner of Endowments is one of the Ex-officio members of the Managing Committee of Sri Jagannath Temple Administration.
FUNCTIONS OF THE DEPARTMENT.
- To administer the public Hindu Religious Institutions and Endowments of the State as per the provisions of Orissa Hindu Religious Endowments, Act, 1951 and Orissa Hindu Religious Endowments, rules, 1955
- To ensure that the public Hindu Religious Institutions and endowments are administered properly and their income is appropriated for the purpose for which the Institutions were established.
- To protect the properties of the Public Hindu Religious Institutions from unlawful encroachment, unlawful alienation, recovery of deity land unlawful alienated and to accord permission to dispose of non¬productive properties and create alternative assets in form of long term Fixed deposits in order to provide a regular income by way of interest.
- To make all necessary arrangements for safety and security of the properties of Religious Institutions and to ensure, smooth management of Niti and festivals as per rituals and to up-keep the tradition and customs of the Hindu Religious Institutions and to propagate ethics and values of Hinduism amongst the public professing Hindu religion.
ADMINISTRATIVE PATTERN
This department is functioning with its Head office at Bhubaneswar. After decentralization of administration, three Zonal offices have been created which are functioning at Cuttack, Berhampur, and Sambalpur.
Head office
The office of the Commissioner of Endowments is declared as Head of Department. The office is functioning in its own Building named as Debottar Bhaban and situated near Civil Courts, B.J.B. Nagar, Bhubaneswar. There is one post of Commissioner of Endowments, one post of Deputy Commissioner of Endowments, and one post of Asst. Commissioner of Endowments, in the Head Office. All the above officers belong to the State Judicial Service and posted in this Department on a deputation basis. The Commissioner of Endowments belongs to the rank of District Judge in the Cadre of Odisha Superior Judicial Service (Senior Branch) who is appointed U/s 4 of the O.H.R.E. Act, 1951. Similarly, Deputy Commissioner of Endowments, who is in the rank of Civil Judge, Senior Division, and Asst. Commissioner of Endowments, who is in the rank of Civil Judge, Junior Division are appointed U/s 5 of the 0.H.R.E. Act, 1951
Zonal Offices Cuttack Zone
The office of the Addl. Asst. Commissioner of’ Endowments, Cuttack was earlier functioning in the premises of Directorate of Industries at the Killa maidan Cuttack since the year 1979 as per Notification No11094 dated.27.06.78 and 2845 dated.15.2.79. At present, the office is shifted to and functioning at Qrs.No.J-O-16, Kala Vikash Kendra Road,
P.O- Buxi Bazar, Cuttack- 753001. The administration of the religious institutions situated in the districts of Cuttack, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Jaipur, Bhadrak, Balasore, and Mayurbhanj are controlled by this office. An officer in the cadre of Civil Judge. The Junior division of Odisha Judicial Service is functioning as the zonal Head, who has also been delegated with the powers of Head of office.
Berhampur Zone
The office of the Addl. Asst. Commissioner of Endowments, Berhampur which was created in the year 1978 is now functioning in a private building located at (O.S.R.T.C Building Bijepur, Berhampur on rental basis for want of any Govt. accommodation. The administration of the religious institutions situated in the districts of Ganjarn. Gajapati. Koraput, malkangiri, Rayagada, Boudh, Kandhamal, Kalahandi, Nuapada, and Nabarangapur are controlled by this office. An officer in the cadre of Civil Judge. The Junior division of Orissa Judicial Service is functioning as the Zonal Head who has also been delegated with the powers of the head office.
Sambalpur Zone
The office of the Addl. Asst. Commissioner of Endowments, Sambalpur which was created in the year 1978 is at present functioning in the Sub-Collector Building campus, Sambalpur. The administration of the religious institutions situated in the districts of Sambalpur, Baragarh, Jharsuguda, Deogarh, Dhenkanal, Angul, Sundergarh. Bolangir, Subarnpur, and Keonjhar are controlled by this office. An officer in the cadre of Civil Judge, Junior Division of Orissa Judicial Service is functioning as the Zonal Head who has also been delegated with the powers of the head office.