Meet man who is under investigation for owning 115 plots, 'highest ever' by any Indian officer, he is from...

In a major development, vigilance officials in Odisha have found that a government officer in Keonjhar district has secretly collected 115 plots of land over the last two decades. This is now considered the highest number of property holdings ever recorded for a government official in the state. The officer in question is Nityananda Nayak, a Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) in the Kenduleaf Division of Keonjhar. According to YK Jethwa, the Director General of the Vigilance Department, Nayak and his family members own plots spread across three districts, Keonjhar, Angul, and Nayagarh. Out of the 115 total plots, 53 are in Nayak’s name, while 42 are registered under his wife’s name. The remaining plots are under the names of his two sons and one daughter. The massive property haul was uncovered during raids conducted by vigilance teams in several locations, including:

His four-storey building in Angul

His ancestral home in Madanmohan Patna

His in-laws’ house in Jagannathpur

His official residence and office in Keonjhar

His son’s home and office in Nayagarh

The raids were approved by the Special Vigilance Court in Keonjhar and involved three DSPs, ten inspectors, and other officers.

Nayak began his career as a Forest Range Officer in 1992. Between 1992 and 2006, he purchased two plots. However, the major increase in properties happened between 2007 and 2015, during his posting in Khariar Forest Division, where he bought 64 plots, the highest during a single assignment.

Later, from 2015 to 2022, while posted in Khariar and Rayagada as Assistant Conservator of Forest (ACF), he added 39 more plots. He bought eight plots while working at the PCCF (Wildlife) office in Bhubaneswar, and two more after becoming DFO in Keonjhar in 2024. In addition to the land, Nayak owns a 9,000 square foot four-storey house in Turanga, Angul, which is still being valued. The search teams also found Rs 1.19 lakh in cash, two cars, and four bikes.

Nayak now holds the record for the most plots owned by a government official in Odisha. He surpassed Pravas Kumar Pradhan, a chief engineer arrested last year, who held 105 plots. The case has raised serious concerns about corruption and misuse of power among public servants in the state.