Patna: The Bihar Assembly has passed a bill by voice vote to acquire 15,000 acres of land belonging to Bettiah Raj. This land, located across East Champaran, West Champaran, Sitamarhi, and parts of Uttar Pradesh, will now be used for public purposes such as building hospitals, schools, and colleges. Until now, the state government managed this property with ADM-rank officers as its custodians.
The assembly session also saw heated debates on reservation issues, leading to a walkout by the opposition. Leader of the Opposition Tejashwi Yadav accused the BJP of overturning the 65% reservation introduced during the Mahagathbandhan government. Countering this, BJP leader Samrat Chaudhary credited Nitish Kumar’s administration for initiating reservation policies and criticised Lalu Yadav’s tenure for neglecting OBC and EBC representation.
Liquor prohibition and related deaths were another point of contention in the house. The government reported 156 deaths from poisonous liquor since 2016, while Tejashwi Yadav alleged widespread availability of liquor in Bihar and accused authorities of targeting the poor while sparing influential figures.
Other discussions included a drop in Bihar’s sex ratio, with Nalanda, CM Nitish Kumar’s district, showing the highest increase. The state reported a ratio of 882 females per 1,000 males in 2023-24, a decline from previous years. The government also presented a supplementary budget of ₹22,697 crores, allocating ₹400 crores for the Patna Metro and other central and state schemes. The winter session will conclude on November 29 after five sittings.
