Section 5(3) in The Orissa Government Land Settlement Rules, 1983
(3)On receipt of applications, they shall be forthwith entered chronologically in a register maintained in Form II. There shall be two such registers, one for the urban area and another for the rural area. The Tahasildar shall, on receipt of the application, cause a verification to be made in respect of each application with reference to the existing record-of-rights and maps, ascertain if the land applied for, is free from encroachment of encumbrance or not, and whether the lease can be granted and examined, whether any de-reservation will be necessary and the applicant is eligible to get the land for the purpose for which he has applied and the like. Such verification shall as far as practicable, be completed within a period of fifteen days from the date of receipt of the application. If after such verification, the Tahasildar is of the opinion that settlement of land shall not be granted because of non-availability of land in question or non-eligibility of the person applying for the land or the like, he shall reject the application after recording in writing reasons for such rejection in respect of each application. He shall do so irrespective of the fact whether the sanction of the lease in the said case is within his competence or rests with any other officer.
