Bihar land survey exercise: Govt extends deadline by another year

Patna: The Bihar government has extended the deadline for completing the ongoing statewide land survey by a year in a bid to minimise the inconveniences being faced by the people on account of the exercise, a top official said Monday.

Talking to reporters here, Dipak Kumar Singh, additional chief secretary (ACS) of the Bihar revenue and land reforms department, said, "The department has decided to extend the July 2025 deadline for completion of the survey and settlement of land across the state by another year. Now, the exercise will be completed by July 2026. The decision has been taken to ensure that people don't face any inconveniences and also transparency in the exercise." The objective of the entire exercise is to help the genuine people with digitised land records to end disputes once and for all, the ACS said.

Besides, the exercise will also let the government have a clear idea about its own land spread across the state, he said, adding, "The government needs land to give it to the landless and also for several infrastructure projects." "Out of a total 38 districts, the land survey exercise is almost in its last stage in 20 districts (covering 5,657 villages). The exercise in the remaining 18 districts (which will cover 37,384 villages) will start soon. Earlier, more than 60 per cent of crime-related incidents in the state used to occur mainly because of land-related disputes. It has come down to 46.69 per cent," he said.

Land survey has been on the agenda of the Nitish Kumar government for a long time, as land disputes had emerged as the biggest law and order challenge in the state. The state government is undertaking a special land survey to update land records in the state. The last cadastral survey in the state was conducted in 1911 during British rule.

The central government is also launching a new programme, 'National Geospatial Knowledge-based Land Survey of Urban Habitations (NAKSHA)' for the creation of land records in urban areas, he said, adding that the state government has recommended six 'urban local bodies' — Sonepur, Buxar, Rajgir, Tarapur, Banka, and Dehri — for the exercise.

"The digitally updated and transparent land records of urban areas will facilitate optimisation of the land resources and sharing of information with various agencies for assisting in policy and planning," he added.

The state government has also initiated the process of identifying land donated during 'Bhoodan Andolan,' a campaign to donate land initiated by Gandhian Vinoba Bhave, in the state.

"The three-member commission that was set up by the Bihar government in 2017 to ascertain the genuineness of the land donated during the Bhoodan Andolan, submitted its report to the government last year. Copies of the report of the commission have been sent to all districts concerned to locate the land. Once identified, these lands will be distributed among the landless people by the government," Singh said.

Headed by former chief secretary Ashok Kumar Choudhary, the panel in its report had said, "The state government has so far distributed 2,56,664.88 acres, out of total 6,48,593.14 acres donated during the Bhoodan Andolan. Around 1,04,958.7 acres, donated during the movement, has been found fit for distribution among the landless people." On the complete takeover by the Bihar government of about 15,358 acres belonging to the erstwhile princely estate of Bettiah Raj, one of the largest zamindaris of the state, the ACS said, "The 'Vesting of Bettiah Raj Properties Act' 2024's gazette notification has been issued. Now, the board of revenue of the state government has framed the draft rules of the Act. The draft rules have been sent to the department concerned for their opinion. After that, it will go before the Cabinet... once the rules of the Act are framed and passed by the Cabinet, the department will initiate the process of taking over the 15,358 acres of land belonging to the erstwhile princely estate of Bettiah Raj."