Why did Bihar halt Nitish Kumar’s ambitious land survey?
The chief minister wanted to address the problem of land disputes ahead of the elections next year, but corruption and confusion on ground spoiled his plans.
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Since the last week of August, Sunny Mandal, a resident of Kalyanpur Motichak village in Bihar, has visited the land revenue office in the district headquarter of Bhagalpur three times. Kumar wants to get 1,350 square feet of agricultural land owned by his father registered on the Bihar government’s digital land record.
After the Bihar government launched a state-wide land survey on August 20, Mandal tried to register the plot of land on the official portal of the state land revenue department. The process requires uploading documents like proof of ownership called khatiyan, receipts of land taxes, a digital or physical map outlining the boundaries of the plot and a self-declaration form to show family lineage to prove claim on ancestral land.
Mandal told Scroll that his online application was rejected because his father had misplaced the khatiyan documents for the plot. “I have the khatiyan number, but there is no document to show for it,” Mandal told Scroll in mid-September. “I am trying to get a fresh copy of the khatiyan but the officials are saying that it could take three-four months because there is a huge backlog of such cases.”
Mandal’s predicament offers a snapshot of the difficulties thousands of Biharis are facing in complying with requirements of...
