Deputy chief minister and revenue and land reforms minister Vijay Kumar Sinha on Friday said the state govt was prepared to constitute a high-level committee to investigate alleged illegal occupation of settlement land in the Dighalbank block of Kishanganj district by outsiders.
Replying to a non-official resolution moved by Thakurganj MLA Gopal Kumar Agarwal during the second half of the last day’s proceedings of the budget session in the assembly, Sinha said the committee would examine the matter in detail. The MLA had highlighted alleged encroachment on settlement land in the border region.
“A special committee will be formed to investigate the process of forging documents by outsiders,” Sinha said.
The state govt, Sinha said, has initiated action against infiltrators in the Seemanchal region bordering Nepal and Bangladesh.
Union home minister Amit Shah had said in Araria on Thursday that all encroachments by infiltrators within a 10km radius of the Seemanchal border areas would be removed, stating that demographic change is dangerous for the history, culture and geography of the country.
The MLA alleged that nearly 90 acres of land allotted to local Dalit, Adivasi and poor Surjapuri Muslim families under the state govt’s Bhoodan and Red Card schemes over the past 40 years had been encroached upon over the last 10 years by outsiders from Malda and Murshidabad in West Bengal.
He demanded that these land parcels be physically verified and freed from illegal occupation.
Sinha said according to a report received from the Kishanganj DM, no specific cases of land grabbing by outsiders had come to light. However, he clarified that if instances of illegal transfer or sale of settlement land were found, the jamabandi in the name of the buyer would be cancelled and the settlement granted to the original settlor would also be revoked. In such cases, the land would revert to the govt.
BJP MLA Krishna Kumar Rishi demanded that panchayat elections be conducted on party lines. Panchayati raj minister Deepak Prakash said that if there was consensus, the matter could be considered. However, he clarified that panchayat elections are conducted in accordance with the Bihar Panchayati Raj Act, 2006 and the Bihar Panchayat Election Rules, and that no proposal to hold elections on a party basis was currently under consideration at the govt level.
“However, this is a matter that needs to be discussed among all stakeholders. If all political parties and the general public agree, it can be considered,” the minister said. Panchayat elections are expected to be held in November.
The state govt rejected the demand for age relaxation for candidates belonging to the EWS category in jobs and other services. MLA Anil Singh had moved a resolution in this regard. Parliamentary affairs minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary said that the provisions made by the central govt for the EWS category do not include any age relaxation. He added that no state in the country has a provision granting age relaxation to EWS candidates.
The Bihar legislative assembly adjourned the tumultuous budget session sine die on Friday.
Speaker Prem Kumar said a total of 3,783 questions were accepted during the session and several bills were passed. He expressed gratitude to members for their cooperation in conducting the proceedings and said the budget session comprised 19 sittings.
The Speaker said the session, which began on Feb 2, included the governor’s address and the presentation of the budget for the financial year 2025-26.
