Bhoodan land distribution to be complete by Mar 31

PATNA: Revenue and land reforms minister Ramai Ram said on Thursday that Bhoodan Yajna Committee (BYC) would be able to complete distribution of the remaining 8,505.33 acres of Bhoodan land among weaker sections by March 31 this year with the help of government officials.
Ram, who was giving reply to a short-notice question of Anandi Prasad Yadav in the state assembly during question hour, said that big land holders had given a total of 6.48 lakh acres of land to BYC for distribution among people of weaker sections.
However, the land verification exercise undertaken by BYC showed that only 3.44 lakh acres of land constituted ‘sampooshta jamin (verified land)’. Moreover, of the total 6.48 lakh acres of Bhoodan land given to BYC, as much as 3.85 lakh acres of land were found to be ‘ayogya (unsuitable)’ for settlement, as they constituted hills, river beds, and other such tracts.
The minister said that Bhoodan land had been given to over 3.44 lakh people, while 8,505.33 acres of land remained to be distributed.
Public Health and Engineering Department (PHED) minister Chandra Mohan Rai, in response to a starred question of Krishna Nandan Yadav, said that the traditional hand pumps had been found to be unsuitable to draw groundwater for drinking purposes, as the water table had gone down.
Yadav had raised the question regarding the drinking water problem being faced by people in Atari assembly constituency in Gaya district. However, leader of opposition Abdul Bari Siddqui and other members of the House also pointed to the same problem being faced in other parts of the state too. PHED minister said that new hand pumps, called Mark-III India, were being installed in vulnerable parts of the state. Moreover, if possible, tankers would also be used to supply drinking water to people.
Agriculture minister Narendra Singh said the government had decided to open an agriculture university at Dumraon in Buxar district, and there was no plan to open such a university in Bhojpur district. He was replying to a starred question of Munni Devi, who had sought to know if the government had also decided to open an agriculture university in Shahpur in Bhojpur district.
Singh said the government would decide to open an agriculture university in Bhojpur or elsewhere in future only if resources permitted.